Hatching eggs of faith in the incubator of evil

“Hardly ever people have witnessed a more perfect and effective methodology for liberating man from all moral constraints, from his sense of responsibility, and turning him into a permanent incubator of evil.”

This is a quote from the Bulgarian Solzhenitsyn, the dissident novelist and playwright Georgi Markov. It’s taken from his “In Absentia Reports”, initially radio essays, broadcasted from West Germany by Free Europe Radio, and having opened a window to the truth for the people living under the lid of the totalitarian state. Because of this Markov was assassinated in central London in 1978 by the Bulgarian Secret Services with the help of the KGB-engineered “Umbrella Murder”. Long before the Russian Scripal there was Markov.

Georgi Markov is one of many Bulgarian heroes for liberty. He got murdered because he would not live in fear and lie. The same incubator of evil he wrote about took his life but couldn’t silence him. Today his books can be found at every bookstore in Bulgaria. This year, after a long struggle, finally In Absentia Reports was included in the literature course to be studied by Bulgarian children at school.

Today Bulgaria is no more a communist state. We live in a democracy. The freedom of conscience, the freedom of press, the freedom of religion, the freedom of expression and the freedom of speech are all guaranteed by our Constitution. Yet, in spite of this, now and then Bulgarian politics remind us that the incubator of evil is not gone. We still live side by side with evil.

One of the ramifications of this incubation of evil was the fact that in the end of last year our parliament tried hard to violate at least some of these fundamental rights. Christians in Bulgaria had a sad reminder of a bygone communist past.

It all started with a Parliamentarian bill sponsored by three political parties passed on first reading in October. The bill supposedly aimed at preventing religious terrorism but actually violated the freedom of religion, especially of the smaller denominations.

The problematic articles included a number of disconcerting restrictions, including impeding clergy training; strict filtering of international donations to churches; limitations on sermon content; restraining liturgy to designated buildings; obstructing non-Bulgarians’ ministry; membership of 3,000 for legal registration; allowing special privileges to religious groups over one percent of the population.

This triggered much unrest and many protests throughout the country. At one of the protests in my city I spoke before the people and said: “1132 years ago, the disciples of Cyril and Methodius – Clement, Naum and Angelarius arrived as missionaries to Bulgaria and presented a new religion to our pagan nation, Christianity. If our king had as advisers the people who wrote the religions bill, their mission would have no chances to succeed!”

Thanks to the peaceful protests, hundreds of letters to the MPs, pressure from abroad and the prayers of the saints, most of these restrictive texts were dropped out on second reading. Yet a few of these clauses remained in the new law that was passed. How would this affect the churches?

For now it looks like the evangelical churches won a victory. The relative freedom we have enjoyed the last 30 years will more or less continue. Bulgarian evangelicals can take a breath of fresh air. Yet, the fact that we are taking the win does not mean that we are blind to the fact of the totalitarian tendencies of the government.

According to one of the amendments of the religions law, the Bulgarian Eastern-Orthodox Church and the Muslim religion will be eligible to receive annual state subsidy of almost 10 million US dollars. Moreover, with a later amendment the state tried, for now unsuccessfully, to cancel a debt of the Muslim religion of almost 5 billion US dollars. All these are steps to making the two main religions dependent on the secular government.

The question is, will the Eastern Orthodox denomination and the Muslim religion be able to shake off political influences? Will they be able to give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's? Will they have the courage to stand up for justice and speak up for the truth?

Other amendments are for the denominations to issue certificates to each of their ministers and to register them with the Committee of religions, which gets new and extended powers. Churches are to notify the Committee about every foreign guest speaker.

All this is happening against the backdrop of a new wave of persecution in the Middle East, India, Northern Africa and China, and resurgence of nationalism in Europe. Would we have freedom of religion in Bulgaria in the long run? Would new restrictive measures hinder the spread of the gospel? Is the communist incubator of evil really permanent, as Georgi Markov prophecied 40 years ago? Are we living again in Orwell’s “1984”?

The Bulgarian pastor dissident Haralan Popov remembers in his book “Tortured for his faith”:  “At 4 o’clock in the morning, the doorbell rang, then again and again. There were three strangers there – two were wearing suits and one a military uniform. “We have a search warrant”, said their leader, then he pushed me back and intruded into the sleeping house.

Within three hours they rummaged everything – books, beds, cabinets, drawers. When at about 7 the sunshine shone through the window, they ordered me to go with them for a ‘little inquiry’…”

Today, exactly 70 years after the verdicts were passed on 15 pastors (March, 1949), many evangelical leaders are skeptical about the goodwill of the authorities. As Vlady Raichinov, deputy chair of the Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance says, “Once they were tapered by the clash with perpetuity and lawmaking arrogance, evangelical believers share a sense of anxiety and vague fears that the clouds are yet to thicken.”

What would it mean for us to work for spreading the Gospel in this situation?

Our New Life FWB Church was founded 6 years ago. Besides our Sunday services and Bible study group meetings, we have run more than 100 evangelistic events with  hundreds of non-Christians attending and hearing the Gospel for the first time. What about now? Will we still enjoy the freedom to do evangelism?

Will we be able to invite people and run evangelistic initiatives at our churches? Will we be able to invite non-Bulgarian guest speakers? To conduct Bible studies, English classes, Literature & History Club, movie nights, Bread Houses and cardio checkups for the elderly? Will we be allowed to invite kids to our summer camps and minister at the rehab center and the Macedonian Culture House?

Will it be possible to hatch eggs of faith in this incubator of evil?

Proverbs 4:16 For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.

A couple of years ago we were conducting our English Music and Sports Project for kids with the help of a CMP team. On the third day of the 7-day project I got a call from a representative of the Religious Affairs Committee at the city council who asked for a meeting with me. When I got there she told me that we can’t conduct our vocal lessons at the Youth Hall anymore although we had applied in advance and gotten permission to do so. So, we had to do all the classes at our two church rooms.

Another time, after I went to advertise a kids project to a group of teachers at a school, one of the teachers said, “We are Eastern Orthodox believers” and almost ruined the whole presentation. Later we were told that she sent a complaint to the Orthodox bishop of Varna and he wrote emails warning all schools not to allow this person (i.e., me), to do sectarian propaganda at their schools.

They really cannot rest until they do evil!

These cases of religious discrimination have been unlawful but in spite of this have been the norm. Now they are already given a legal sanction. Where will all this lead?

If the state continues to exert more control over the church in Bulgaria it is possible that Christians would continue to emigrate to places where they can have their unalienable rights granted.

At the same time, many churches would have to go underground. Orthodox propaganda might increase and state control might grow. Foreign aid might be banned. This might lead to a situation similar to what we had during communism. Another wave of persecution against Christians would not surprise the church in Bulgaria.

The most famous Bulgarian of all times, the leader of the national liberation movement Vassil Levski, said that one day “all people in Bulgaria will live under pure and holy laws as it is given by God for man to live... We want to be free indeed in our land…” Our political leaders hang Levski’s portrait on the wall of their offices but have forgotten his words. One hundred and fifty years later, it seems that Levski’s dream of a free Bulgaria where God’s justice reigns is still not realized.

Yet, if we believe that God is our King, no restrictions in secular laws and no persecution should be able to hinder the gospel. The question is, are we ready to pay the price?

As Christians we should treasure and defend our relative freedom of religion today because God created us with this “unalienable right”. Plato said, "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."

Once we paid that penalty and we are still recovering from that evil. We may live now in the incubator of evil but this evil can still be curbed with the truth of the Gospel. So, may God give us wisdom and courage to defend our religious freedom and make sure all Bulgarian citizens have access to the gospel.

Because, restrictions on religious freedom hinder people from hearing the gospel and receiving the greatest gift imaginable, salvation and eternal life.

We run the Christmas Child Operation, an initiative of Samartan’s Purse. We would go to schools and institutions to give shoebox presents to kids and share the gospel with them. After one such event was over, a woman came to Vanya and told her how much she liked what Vanya said in her address to all children and their parents. They exchanged their telephone numbers and met a few days later again. Since then they got along and started meeting and became friends. Some months ago Vanya gave her a Bible and Polly said: “I’ve always wanted to have a Bible, thank you so much!” Vanya invited her to study the Bible together. Since then they have had many meetings. Polly is now a believer and member of New Life Church. Religious freedom is important because people’s eternal destiny depends on us being able to do evangelism!

If the Bulgarian authorities continue to hinder by legal means the witness of the church then I would consider it my duty from God to resist and disobey the restrictive laws. The church should continue to do her mission no matter what the incubator of evil tells her. We are in the world but not of the world.

Pastor Wang Yi, pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church in China, who was arrested together with many believers from his church, says: “I believe the Bible requires me to, in a peaceful manner, in a gentle rebellion and positive patience, full of joy, resist all administrative and judicial measures that persecute the church and interfere with the Christian faith.”

This should be a peaceful, non-violent resistance. We will need God’s wisdom and creativity. We must “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” And we will have to adopt new methods of doing ministry and evangelism. As a last resort, we should go underground and meet at homes. Above all, we should clothe our lives and ministry in Christ’s love and be willing to give our lives for our Lord and Savior. But we should never desert our calling to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Psalms 37:9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

Our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Like him, we shall speak the truth and will defend our freedom in Him.

And like the Bulgarian hero Georgi Markov, we cannot live in fear and lie. To him belong the words, “Happiness is in freedom. The freedom to be a person who is equal to all men, the freedom to have the right to your own voice, your own face, your own life.”

And our voice should be of the One in whom we have believed in.

John 8:31,32 “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Yes, God can set us free even while living in the incubator of evil. Free to hatch eggs of faith.

Let me finish by quoting C.S. Lewis who also has something to say on the topic of hatching eggs: “It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”

May the Lord help us to hatch spiritual eggs no matter how pervert and cunning the powers of evil are against us.

Trif Trifonov

_________________

Seminar given at the National Convention of the FWB Churches in Cincinnati, USA on July 24, 2019. 

How can we be sure that Christianity is the right religion?

/sermon by Mike Enns/

Greetings      -Today is the next Sermon to our serious „you asked for it“

-The Question today is: How can we be sure that christianity is the right religion?

-I think it is a question every christian has or should ask himself. So I think it is a very good question to talk about.

→ Yet giving a good answer to a good question is not always easy. But I'm a very pragmatic guy and did the most reasonable think: ...I asked the question somebody else of course.

I asked this question a couple of other christians I knew and the answers were suprising... Suprising because everyone answered me something different. A lot of the answers had things in common but non were the same.

- I heard we can be sure that christianity is the right religion because:

-The only relegion where we can be sure to be saved.

-only religion where we are saved by mercy alone and not our merits or deeds.

-somebody told me he believe in christianity because it is the only religion that makes sense an is historicaly convincing

-and somebody even told me it would be rude not to accept the sacrifice of God, his son himself on the cross for us and be sure about it.

So there is no easy, universal answer......All of them were corect of course, but all were different. But there was one thing the answers had in common. People were very confident.

So how can we as well be confident in our answer. How can we be sure as well that christianity is the right religion?

Well I think the reason why there are so many answers is that you can be sure in many different aspects. But They mainly split in 2 perspectives.

The first is the spiritual. Were we believe. Believe in God's word, his actions for us and our expierience with him. That is very good and God wants us to believe in him but when other non christians talk with us about this topic they often expect the other perspective.

2.That are the Facts. Hard empirical data. Historical proof. Real evidence.

-which is not suprising people love facts and evidence. Me too. I'm in a science field after all. Even random once.

-Did you know that the Eiffel tower has 1665 steps?

Anyway...Our answers are a mixture between facts and and spiritual beliefs and people might not understand the belief part when we talk to them from that perspective or even call us stupid.

In this sermon I will focus more on the factual side. I think the question was asked with that in mind.

But before that I want to establish that the other side is just as important.

Even if other people don't understand

-That is ok.God wants us to believe. Even if we are called stupid.

That can happen. It happened to me a couple of times and I know it will again. I don't know if you have experienced it but you probably know it can and even God knows it.

1 Corinthians 1, 18-25       _read carefully it is a powerful text.

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”[a]

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

For the people who do not believe it is foolish and stupid to believe and always will be.

The death of Jesus Christ, God's son, on the cross for our sins and his resurrection is stupid for people who do not believe. It is not provable and not understandable by human means. It is a miracle God did for us in his mercy. He conquered death so we can live.

That is the very essence of what we believe. Not understandable with facts and the laws of nature. 

Humans can't comprehend it.

So however much we love facts and data we as christians believe that God is bigger than them.

-Because he destroyed the wisdom of the wise and frustrated the intelligence of the intelligent by overcoming these things. That is the victory of the cross we celebrate every Easter and we believe in.

And it is good we believe because God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what was preached.

When I saw this question of: „How can I be sure that christianity is the right religion?“, one of the first things I thought about was a story from the bible where someone is very similar in doubt and wanted to be proofen with facts.

You can find the story in John 20:24-29.

It happened just after Jesus ressurected. He appeared to a few of his apostles but Thomas missed out on that so the others told him „We have seen the Lord“ full of excitement. And do you know what Thomas told them?....

-“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

A week later jesus appeared in the house where all his disciples where and led Thomas do just that but what Jesus told him afterwards is really interesting....

-he said to him: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

I said it before. God wants us to believe and we as Christians do. This is something we should always be aware of and undertand. That is not something non christians, especially atheists understand.

2.But because we haven't seen Jesus and believe does not mean we are blind.

-That reminds me of the of a story of a missionary who went to distant tribes to evangelise. So he went to the people and told them that through believing in Christ they will be saved. But there was a problem because the translator told him they do not have the concept of belief in there language so he can not translate it. You have to explain it.

So the missionary was very puzzled. He never had to do that before.

He looked around an noticed a cloud going in front of the sun and he knew how to tell them.

So he pointed at the sun and said do you see the sun? - No came the answer

Then he asks if he knows that the sun is there? -Yes of course came the answer.

That is belief. The missionary told him. You do not see the sun and yet you know it is there

God gave us eyes to see and a mind to think so we should use them and that is for the other perspective.

The facts and proofs we humans love so much.

We can not see the sun yet we can see it's light, the trees it let's grow and the fruit it brings.

Similar we can see all the fats and proof surrounding our sun we believe in so we should do that.

It also helps us understand what we believe in.

First. I have a question for you. Do not be afraid to answer. It is very important.

-How heavy do you think I am?    86

So now we can go and sing about that I'm ...kg and have sermon every sunday that I'm ….kg and can convince millions of people that I'm ….kg It does not change the fact that I'm ...kg.

It does not change the fact there is only one truth.

When we talk about why we believe in christianity and not in any of the other religion I have often heard that it doesn't matter in what we believe. They are all the same anyway or it is all the same God anyway. Allah, God. There is no difference.

Or If God loves the people how can he let so many become lost so he probably excepts the other religion too as long as they belive in him.

I have also heard it doesn't matter what you believe as long as it works for you and you are happy or a good person.

This is absulute Nonsense. A higher form of Nonsense.

No matter how much I believe that I'm ...kg or how happy I am that I believe that I'm ...kg or how many people believe that I'm ...kg.  The only thruth will be that I'm ...kg.

Ok. Enough about my weight. Here is a quote for you.

“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” People do believe in that.

That is a quote from Adolf Hitler by the way.

There is only one truth The only truth is our God and savior and the only way to him is his son jesus christ.

Nowadays it's all about tolerance and you are called intolerant when you try to convince someone of something else. Everyone their own. Whatever fits them.

Even Christians and churches change their believe to better fit their needs. For example start mixing evolutionary theory with creationism. That is not right.

God and his word is the only truth.

But other religions claim that too so what is the difference? Why do we believe in Christianity and not any other religion?

Let's talk about these differences.

Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Taoism, Gnosticism, Naturalism and many many more. As much as you can imagine. Why is christianity different than other religions.

First of all. I don't think christianity is a religion like the others at all.

-There is no scholarly consensus over the definition of "religion"

It is not clear but most people believe that the word religion comes from the latin „ligare“ wich means to connect and „re“ again.

So the word means the Human efford to connect with God again. But in Christianity we believe in God's effort to connect with us humans again. The opposite of religions.

We destroyed the connection with God with sin and Jesus came to us to rebuild it again.

We can't do anything to be saved by God. None of our actions and deeds matter. Only through God's grace are we saved. We only have to believe.

If we want to be more sure about Christianity we can look at the evidence which it presents itself to us.

There are a lot of different aspects of evidence we can look at:

There is the historical evidence, theological evidence, scientific evidence and so on. You can find so much for each of these points we could do our own sermons and because we don't have that much time I'll try to make it compact.

First let's talk about historical evidence. It is porbaly the most discussed kind of evidence.

The bible for historians is unimaginably valuable. You have thousands of years of detailed history of israel and the surrounding countries. Their wars. Their laws. Their Cities. Their Kings and their descendants an so on and so on. Especially in the old testament.

All wich is proved accurate by other sorces and documents found but such kind of  timelines and description can not be found in other religios texts.

One example is The Existence of Hittites. Genesis 23 reports that Abraham buried Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah, which he purchased from Ephron the Hittite. Second Samuel 11 tells of David’s adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. A century ago the Hittites were unknown outside of the Old Testament, and critics claimed that they were a figment of biblical imagination. In 1906, however, archaeologists digging east of Ankara, Turkey, discovered the ruins of Hattusas, the ancient Hittite capital at what is today called Boghazkoy, as well as its vast collection of Hittite historical records, which showed an empire flourishing in the mid-second millennium BC.

-This historical challenge against the bible was often repeated over time and still the bible stands correct

Another example from a different region are The Nuzi Tablets. The some 20,000 clay tablets discovered at the ruins of Nuzi, east of the Tigris River and datable to c. 1500 BC, reveal institutions, practices, and customs remarkably congruent to those found in Genesis. These tablets include treaties, marriage arrangements, rules regarding inheritance, adoption, and the like.

We also now that the content in the bible is unaltered over time unlike what some people claim.

The oldest biblical texts found are not different from what we have today in our bible.

Last year in 2016 scientist where able to read the oldest known bible text found in En Gedi, Israel. A scroll of leviticus over 2000 years old. It was so damaged nobody could open the scroll and read it without destoying it.

New imaging techniques made it possible and scientist say the text is 100% identical to what is used today and that it is amazing how the text can stay unaltered for centuries.

There is a lot more and I had a really hard time picking out these examples.

There is historical  Anthropological proof of the bible with the common flood story in so many civilisations around the world but I think you understand the point. Historians treassure the bible nowadays second only to the christians and jews.

We can also look at theological proof.

We have all the prophesies given to us by God.

 If you only look the ones up about jesus You will find a list of 353 Prophesies in the old testament fullfilled by him. What are the chances of that happening?

My personal favorite prophecy is in the last chapter of Isaiah 66,7-8 where he talks about Israel being reborn as a nation again in one day and he literally asks. „Who has heard such a thing. Who has seen such things.

Nothing is comparable in world history yet May 14, 1948 The Jews were able to declare independence for Israel as a united and sovereign nation for the first time in 2,900 years.

That is incredible and you can find a lot more of these kinds of proof in christianity and I really mean a lot, but I would like to talk to you a little bit about some kind of evidence not spoken so often about.

Scientific evidence in the bible.

People often don't know that it is there but the bible reveals some scientific proofs and laws of nature only understood by humans many many years after the bible was written.

Do you know this friendly fellow with the name Pythagoras. He is quite famous. Maybe you remember him from Math class in school.

Pythagoras invented this triangle formula and also is credited to say the earth is round. That was around 500 BC.

You can find indications of a round earth quite a few bible verses. Old an new testament.

The very first statement I could find was in Job 26,10.

„He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters,
At the boundary of light and darkness.“

That circular horizon is called terminator the border of day and night and can only exist if the earth is round. Otherwise it would be a line. And not a circle

As you can see we can find evidence of the nature of the world given to us by God that was only found 1500 years later by mankind. We can find a more recent example.

In Isaiah 40,22 God is mentioned as the one „who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.“

That clearly indicates an expanding Universe which was only clarified by astonomers in the 1920s because of observation that galaxys clearly move away from each other.

And if we are in astronomy already we can talk about the numbers of stars. Nowadays we know that there is an uncountable amount of stars. In the year 150AD the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy cataloged 1,022 stars in his work The Almagest. Most believed that was it. You can still buy the book today.

But in the very first book of the bible Genesis 32,12 we can read God said already to Jacob:

„12 For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

With the help of modern science, we have an even greater appreciation of just how innumerable the stars are. We have over 100 billion stars in our galaxy alone.

Scientists believe there are more galaxies in our seeable universe than stars in our own. Having each 100 of billion and trillion stars on their own.

But not only the Nature of the world is shown to us in the bible but also the laws of nature and much more.

As you have seen there is really a lot of evidence supporting christianity over other religions but a leader of a street evangelism workshop I have been to many year ago told me that you will not convince anyone to believe in Christ by beating them in facts or winning an argument.

That is why it is also so important not to forgett our beliefs when we go search for proofs.

In the beginning of the sermon I said the question of „how can I be sure that christianity is the right religion?“ is a good question every christian has or should ask themself.

Because God says

Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Do you know the book or movie Ben Hur? There was just this new movie in 2016. It is after a book written by civil war general Lew Wallace in 1899 Ben Hur a tale of Christ. It is now known as one of the most famous christian stories of all time.

What many people don't know is Wallace never was member of a church. His novel startet by a discussion with Colonel Robert Ingersoll who „poured audacities and antithesis against believers in God, Christ and heaven like he never heard before.“

Lew laiter said: „... Yet here was I now moved as never before, and by what? The most outright denials of all human knowledge of God, Christ, Heaven... Was the Colonel right?

That would make a book, and compel me to study everything of pertinency; after which, possibly, I would be possessed of opinions of real value.

It only remains to say that I did as resolved, with results--first, the book Ben Hur, and second, a conviction amounting to absolute belief in God and the Divinity of Christ."

So I enourage all of you ask yourself and others this question and study, read the bible, pray and listen to God's word till you find an answer too.

 "New Life" Bulgarian Protestant Church

Varna, 30.07.2017

Our Deepest Needs

/sermon by Dalton Alvis/

I. Intro

• I’ve been in Bulgaria for a little over a month now, and while learning just a
little of the language, I’ve come across some linguistic similarities. Of course
there are some words that are essentially the same like taxi or pizza. Each
language has their own slang, like a couple of weeks ago I learned spoko
which of course means like “chill or calm down.” But something else I
realized was that both languages have very definitive differences between the
words “want” and “need.” In both English and Bulgarian, wants are not the
same as needs even though they can be similar. A toddler may scream and cry
because he feels like he “needs” a toy, but he doesn’t actually need it; he just
wants it. I may not always feel this incredible desire for oxygen, but if I hold
my breath for very long at all, I begin to know I need it very quickly.
Sometimes it can be easy to get these two confused, but it becomes even more
difficult with the different kind of needs we have.

• Did you know that we sometimes perceive things as real needs, when they
actually aren’t? These perceived needs can be things we think we need, when
in reality, they may just be deep wants or desires. But then other times, a
person may have multiple very real needs, but some are just deeper than
others. Today, I want us to look at a couple different passages and I believe
we’ll see that not only is a relationship with Christ our greatest need, but he is
also the answer to every other need we may ever have. Until Jesus is enough,
nothing else will be. Until Jesus is enough if your life and in mine, nothing
else will bring any kind of real satisfaction, so if you’ll turn with me to Acts
chapter 3 we’re gonna start there . . . (Read Acts 3:1-10)

II. We Need Him for Salvation

• The first thing we need Jesus for is for salvation. Here we see a man who had
some very real physical and financial needs. V. 2 says he had been lame from
birth and had to be carried everywhere he went. This would obviously make
for an extremely difficult life in a variety of ways. He couldn’t work, so he
begs outside the temple in order to survive. He had to rely on friends, family,
or other beggars to transport him. What’s interesting is that Peter and John
don’t deny this man’s very real needs, but rather, when he asks them for alms,
they directed their gaze to him. They do not ignore the lame beggar’s
desperate situation, but they are able to see his most desperate need even if he
couldn’t.

• Beyond any person’s troubles in this world, their greatest need is always going
to be a relationship with Jesus Christ. Eternal life is the single most important
assurance we can have and that only comes through following him. No matter
what may come in this lifetime, the struggles of this world don’t come with us
after we die. This lame man had been in poverty and unable to walk since
birth, but Peter knew that what he needed above all else was the promise of a
new body and riches in glory in the life to come. There is this burning, innate
desire in us as humans to long for something - something outside ourselves.
We can know there is a God, and as the early church leader Augustine said,
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they
rest in you.” (repeat) The only true fulfillment we can experience in this life is
found in resting in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That is our
greatest need - to be saved from the punishment we so deserve, to be
graciously brought into relationship with our Heavenly Father, and to be
mercifully forgiven of all of our sins. But that’s also the Gospel, the good
news. We have all of that in Jesus. He paid the price on the cross for our sins,
through him we can be brought back to God the Father, and because of his
sacrifice, we can be forgiven.

• Peter and John obviously knew this was this man’s greatest need and so they
use this healing miracle as a way to exemplify their own faith in Christ, as
well as be a witness of Christ’s transforming power. In vv. 7-10, the man’s
spiritual transformation is seen through his joy and exuberance in worshipping
God. He even becomes an effective witness for Christ to those around him as
the last line of the passage says “And they were filled with wonder and
amazement at what had happened to him.” (Pause) So if you’re here and you
have never experienced this fulfillment through a relationship with Christ, or
maybe you don’t know what you believe, let me encourage you to keep
seeking. Keep searching for what that missing piece is in your life because I
believe his name is Jesus.

III. We Need Him Every Day

• But what if you’re here this morning and this is all old news to you? Maybe
you’ve been a devoted follower of Jesus for a long time, and thus, that deepest
need has been fulfilled. You know you rest in Him, but does that mean life is
now a smooth path and all our other struggles are taken care of? No, of course
not. What so many of us forget is that yes, our greatest longing is to be with
God through faith in Jesus, but that doesn’t mean that from that point forward,
we will never have another struggle. What is even more amazing though, is
that after salvation, Jesus is still the answer to all of our existing needs. And
that’s our second point which is We need him every day.

• Let’s look at a variety of verses which illustrate other continuous needs we
have of God.
- John 15:4-5 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in
me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him,
he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Even
after we’ve begun following Christ, we must abide with him, or continue in
a daily, personal relationship with him, because apart from him, it says we
can do absolutely nothing of real, eternal value or significance.
- “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me
under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock” (Psalm 27:5).
We need Him as our Protector; He is our safe haven, our shelter.
- “As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought of me. You are
my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!” (Psalm 40:17). He is
where we must go when we need His divine, sovereign help.
- “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). We
need His mercy and grace.
- “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel
you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8). We need His Spirit to guide us.

• The Bible is full of verses like these exemplifying how we need God, not just
for one day of salvation, but every single day after as well. Let’s look at just
one more passage where the Apostle Paul so clearly depicts this need for
Christ. It’s found in Philippians chapter 4 and to give it a little context, Paul is
concluding his letter to the Philippians and thanking them for this gift, this
support they’ve sent him. (Read Phil. 4:10-13)

• Paul says he’s learned to be content no matter the circumstance, whether he’s
down and in need or abounding and has plenty, he is content. How? “Through
Christ” he says in v. 13. Christ gives him the strength to endure regardless of
what’s going on around him. We can be content in all situations because we
trust God. What exactly does Paul trust that He will do? (Read v. 18-19) “God
will supply for every need.” He and He alone can provide, satisfy, and save.

• These verses depict one of the most important truths I’ve ever had to grasp:
Jesus is always enough. That’s how Paul was able to be content through
everything that he faced - being hated and persecuted, beatings, and even
imprisonment. He knew that no matter what happened, Christ was enough and
he would supply every need. That’s why Paul is able to say earlier in this book
of Philippians that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Even unto death, Jesus
is enough. He is what we so desperately need, and he is always, always
enough.

• Now, that sounds simple, but in our day-to-day life, it can seem impossible to
comprehend and actually apply. Any time we feel like we “need” anything or
anyone else, we are sinning, we are turning our back on Christ. We tell him,
“You are good when I need you, when I’m really desperate, but now I’m good,
I’m alright. These other things will suffice.” When this happens, we turn that
thing we need into an idol, and we kind of set Jesus in the back till we “need”
him again. The greatest problem with doing so is that nothing in this world can
ever truly satisfy. When we feel like we “need” anything in this world outside
of Christ, we mistake the gifts for the Giver, the Creation for its Creator. Often
times, those things we feel we “need” the most, we actually need to fast from
the most. Put yourself in a position to go without that which you feel like you
need and replace it with something where you can find true contentment in
Christ.

• Until Jesus is enough, nothing else will be. (repeat) Until he is all you need,
nothing else in this world will bring contentment or satisfaction. But when we
have our priorities right, everything else seems to find its order. Psalm 37:4
says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your
heart.” The order of these words is everything. This verse does not mean as
long as we follow Christ, God is gonna give us everything we want. Rather,
when we truly begin to delight in who God is, find our contentment in Christ,
and love Him for Himself and not for what He can do for us, our heart begins
to change. As we delight in the Giver first, our desires change according to
what God wants. He gives us His desires, He reshapes our wants and desires
according to His own.

IV. Conclusion
• So both wants and needs are important. We have God-given needs and desires,
but we must not forget why we have them in the first place - to point us back
to Christ, back to the Giver. Whether your here today and hearing some of this
for the very first time, or maybe you’ve heard this a thousand times before, we
all have one need that is deeper than any other, and that is to surrender to
Christ and follow him, but even if you’re living your life totally devoted to
him today, we must always remember just how desperate we are for him every
second of every day. So maybe you’ve never taken that first step in giving
your life to Christ, maybe today was your first time hearing his good news,
quit trying to find real satisfaction in this world. I’ll save you the search, it’s
not there. Maybe you want just a little of what that lame man had, find Trif or
Vanya after the service and ask them about what it means to really follow
Christ, because he is the only way we can find true contentment. Or if you are
a believer here this morning, but you’ve tended to put Jesus in the back at
times, be reminded that until Jesus is enough for you, nothing else can be, and
then identify those things, those idols you’ve replaced him with. Be comforted
today knowing that Jesus is all we need, he is what we should want most. In
the good days and the bad, in the darkest trials and the happiest victories, he is
enough.

Чърчил за исляма

/see original quote in English below/

"Колко ужасни са проклятията, които мохамеданството навлича на своите последователи! Освен фанатичната ярост, която е толкова опасна за човека както хидрофобията за кучето, съществува и тази страшна фаталистична апатия. Ефектите са очевидни в много страни. Непредвидливи навици, небрежно селско стопанство, мудни методи на търговия и несигурност на собствеността съществуват навсякъде, където управляват или живеят последователите на пророка. 

Низкото сладострастие отнема от този живот благодатта и красотата, а от следващия неговото достойнство и святост. Фактът, че при мохамеданството всяка жена трябва да принадлежи на някой мъж като негова абсолютна собственост - като дете, съпруга или наложница - отлага края на робството за времето, когато вярата на исляма престане да бъде значителна сила сред хората. 

Хиляди стават смели и лоялни войни на вярата: всички знаят как да умрат, но влиянието на тази религия парализира общественото развитие на тези, които я следват. На света няма друга по-ретроградна сила. Мохамеданството далеч не е изчезващо, то е войнствена и прозелитираща вяра. Вече се е разпространило в централна Африка, и издига безстрашни войни на всяка крачка; ако християнството не беше подслонено в силните обятия на науката, науката срещу която мохамеданството напразно се е борило, цивилизацията на съвременна Европа можеше да загине, както загина цивилизацията на древен Рим."

- Уинстън Чърчил


Original Quote

“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property – either as a child, a wife, or a concubine – must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the faith: all know how to die but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.” 
― Winston S. Churchill

Surprise, surprise

"В този момент изглежда сякаш науката никога няма да може да вдигне завесата пред мистерията на творението. За учения, живял чрез вярата си в силата на разума, историята завършва като лош сън. Той е пребродил планини на невежество, остава само да покори най-високия връх. И когато накрая се довлича върху последната канара, го поздравяват група богослови, които са седели там от векове."
- Робърт Джастроу, астрофизик и агностик

Open Your Parachute

I met Dobi during my last visit to the Drug and Alcohol Addicts Center. Dobi is a woman in her 50s, intelligent and still beautiful. Once she was a brave and joyful young woman who enjoyed life and tried extreme sports like parachuting. Yet, with the years she became victim of alcohol and this broke her world to pieces. As I looked in her eyes I realized how much she is ashamed and sorry of her being here.

After we talked a little bit about where she came from and what her job was, I asked her. “Dobi, what do you think about the Supernatural reality. Is there a God?” She said: “Well, I think there is some sort of a power…”

Most of the Bulgarians claim they are Orthodox Christians. Yet, when they have to define what this really means and how God looks like they say that God is just an impersonal power.

Whenever I hear this answer I feel like asking, “That is a very safe thing to say, isn’t it?” On one hand, knowing that the person who asks you is a Christian (and a pastor!) you don’t want to hurt him by saying you don’t believe in the existence of God.

On the other, you decide to simply create a god in your image and likeness. A god that is close enough to help you when you call him and not too close to interfere in your life. Because you realize that God, if he exists, is holy, you can’t bear this.

People want the benefits of being a Christian but avoid the responsibilities a follower of Christ should have. It's like what happened to Bulgaria after the fall of communism. We wanted the benefits of freedom and the free market economy but have ever since been avoiding  the responsibilities of living under the supremacy of law. We try to suppress the trauma of living in an orderly society.

As the Swiss theologian Karl Barth puts it, “religion is a result of the suppressing of the trauma caused by God's holiness.” People avoid their fear and shame in meeting the real God by choosing to create their own ‘safe’ religion and gods.

Yet the Bible tells us that worship of our selves or idols is called idolatry. And idolatry is a sin. The only way we can avoid idolatry and face the trauma of meeting the holy God is through God’s grace. We can find shelter from God’s fearful holiness in Jesus’ wounds.

As we were talking about the difference between dead religion and personal faith in Jesus Dobi was listening. I could tell this was the first time when she, similarly to many others, had to face the real God in her life. She had to deal with the trauma of meeting the holy God. She had to make that jump and open her Parachute. Trust Jesus. I hope she will.

At the heart of our ministries in our New Life churches is exactly this: we ask and persuade the people to turn to the trauma of salvation by trusting Jesus. Please, pray with us for many others like Dobi who have to choose. To live a life of deceitful safety at the expense of eternal damnation. Or, trusting Jesus, to overcome the trauma and live with Him forever.

The Power of the Word

Sermon notes by Mike Enns

New Life Church – Varna, 24.05.2015

(Greetings) I welcome you all on this special holiday here to church. “Day Of Bulgarian, Alphabet, Enlightenment and Culture”.

When I was preparing for the sermon on this day, I was thinking of what to tell you.  
-> And I thought there probably isn’t much I can tell you about Bulgarian culture. So I will stick to the alphabet for today.

I don’t know how much of this is common knowledge but you guys probably know the inventors of the Glagolic alphabet right? (Cyril and Methodius. …… Well there are born Constantine and Michael (my names relative)   And they were born in a famous city from the bible. Do you know? Thessaloniki (today in Greece)

Emperor Michael 3 (another from my family) send them on a mission to evangelize here on the Balkan.                                                                                                                                        

And they needed an alphabet to translate the bible into the languages of the people there.                 

- That’s how the Glagolic alphabet was born.                                                                                      

- Later their students reached Bulgaria and were instructed by Boris 1 to teach the people.

Furthermore the translation of the bible played a major role in the generalisation of the Bulgarian language.

You have to imagine whole alphabets and languages bending around one book.    Coming to existence for it.                                                                                                                                    

 - Calling it the day of enlightenment when we finally could read it.                                                  

 - Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" path.”                                                      

Great how many people acknowledge that without even thinking about it.                                                                         

- That’s not even a rarity!

In Germany we had Martin Luther who unified the German language solely translating the bible.                      

– and there are many more examples still happening today.

Giving tribes alphabets and unifying languages.

!!!   Isn’t Gods word truly powerful?

But if we want to try to understand just a little of how important it is we should start in the beginning.                                                                                                                                 

-> The beginning of John that is.                                                                                                             In John 1,1-3:“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. “          

In the beginning was the Word. God’s words were here long before anything was created.  
-and only through that were all the things made.

-          Imagine the power his words have.    

The power of creation.

è That would be greater than any force known to science.!!!

-nobody is able to create from nothing.       

-even the big bang is supposed to come from something that explodes.

And if we read in 2 Timothy “All Scripture is breathed out by God".                                                       -what does that mean?

è Our whole existence is based on God words and here we have these same words written down for us. So we may learn from it.              

 ;isn’t that amazing.

At this point in my preparations I realised already that I too may not always treat the bible with the respect it deserves.

I have 5 bibles. 2 in German, 2 in English and one in Bulgarian.                                                                                    

 -I even have one on my phone with all the translations I want.

For us here it’s now a days an every day item.                                                                                         So we are in danger that the importance slips our mind.

You know? I always wanted to study far away. At best in English and out of the country .I was really happy when I could come here to Varna. Being so happy to never see the school again from inside.                                                                                                                                                  -
If I would tell my 3 years ago self how much home sick I was the first years I would have thought I have gone crazy here in Bulgaria.

Sometimes it’s hard to see what value something has for us if we have it every day.                                  

 They get buried in daily activity and thinking.                                                                                   

 - we constantly have to remind ourselves what importance we have in the word given to us                           

 -the Jews aren’t even allowed to touch the Tora (5 books Moses) with bare hands.                             That’s how important God’s word is for them.

And while we speak about importance: Do You happen to know who was voted most important person of the last century?

-a hint is he was German.

In the end of the century many publishers discussed this and the one who won was   Johannes Gutenberg – inventor of the printing press.  

-and what was the first book ever printed? …….The Bible.                                                                  

-being the bestselling book every year since creation of book making.

The power of God’s word doesn’t end with creation. ….. It reaches far into our time. Our lives. Into each and every one of our lives:                         

-”For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  As is written in Hebrews 4 verse 12                                                            

God’s word is alive. ……..Even today. And the world is in desperate need of it. ……With all the conflicts going on: With all the disasters, wars and terror: I don’t think I have to name them. We are praying for them all the time. God’s words have the power to pierce the souls and change our heart.                                                                                             

 -sharper than any sword could ever be. 

Nowadays we can build blades just a few atoms wide. Cutting with laser, or diamonds.  

-God’s word is sharper.

It can reach every person differently because it’s alive.                                                                                                  

 -   Some may be touched by sermons, some by songs, and some might even be changed by dreams.  ……God’s word is alive. It can pierce every soul.  

-The 1911 (11th) edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica implies something a little over 1000 existing languages.

 – Do you know in how many languages the bible is translated until today?

2508 in the last ten years around 300 new languages.

The word of God is alive. …….spinning around the globe piercing people in the soul and changing them.                                                                                      

  - The Power to truly change a person.                                                                                                                           

That’s far more than I can fathom.

                                                                                                                                                        

- I don’t even have the power to change myself.

Repeating the same mistakes over and over again………. Sinning over and over again.                                              

 -No Christian is without sin and will ever be.       

But God can help us change more and more.

Like Trif I also like the picture of the butterfly transformation.                                                           The interesting thing about it is:   that the caterpillar isn’t actually transforming into a butterfly.                                                                      

 It liquefies completely into a random mash of proteins which than transforms into the Butterfly.     Scientist have no idea how. They even retain their memory.                                                                       

 - A God who can change a protein mash into something beautiful like that can probably change me a little too.

But there is more to the power of God’s word.                                                                                                                           

That is the power of faith. “ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God“as is written in Romans 10,17

Without Gods word we would not now of the salvation given to us in the gospel of Christ.                                 

-> We could not be saved

Who should we pray to?... Who worship? …..How would we know of Jesus sacrifice?

There are so many false teachings we talked about in the last weeks. How would we know right from wrong?

It too is the word that gives us the Power to have faith and therefore be saved.

And we can trust in it to always do so. Today. Tomorrow. And all the years to come

Isaiah 40:8 :

•      “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

We can trust that God’s word is there to give us faith whenever we need it.

When we are weak and when we are strong. It will always be there so that we might be saved through the faith.

And maybe that is the most important power of them all                                                                               I’m not sure they are all essential for us as Christians.

è The Power to create

è The Power to change

è And the Power of faith.

As goodbye I want to give you a little power from the word of God:

Jeremiah 29:11-13

“ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

                                                                            The End