Feeling After God

In The Glory of Christ by John Owen he makes a statement about "feeling after God," and thinking about it crystallized for me some things I have been observing in the church. As we in the West have moved from the modern era to the post-modern era we have moved from a time of rationalism to a time of experientialism and emotionalism. This has been reflected in the church as we have seen an emphasis on experience as the primary means of "connecting" with God.

The prevailing thought seems to be that the way to find God is by experience, that the only way to truly know God is experientially and to know God more deeply requires more frequent or more intense experiences This is manifested in the "worship experience" in many churches. Pastors dress up as different bible characters or secular characters so the audience will feel more connected to the sermon or can more readily identify with the character. We see more stage production in the music portion of the service with brighter lights, louder music, more graphics, cutting edge technology, drama and dance, all designed to create and enhance the "worship experience." So for many churches the experience of the worship service has become primary and the message of the worship service has become secondary, or less. Even in the way the message is presented experience or feeling is emphasized over content.

Church members and attenders have become addicted to the experience much like the cocaine addict who keeps seeking the next high. Even those who sense or know something is wrong, or are abhorred by the theatrics and disgusted by the lack of content in the sermon can't leave, but keep coming back for the high of the experience, just like the cocaine addict who knows it isn't good for him but keeps chasing the next high.

This is also reflected in religious literature. In the book The Barbarian Way Erwin McManus touts experience and mysticism as the keys to a deeper spiritual life as if you can't have a deeper walk or deeper communion with God without them. It is one of the themes that flow through the books Wild at Heart and Blue Like Jazz. It is also seen in Dallas Willard's writings.

This emphasis on experience is becoming even more egregious in the Word of Faith arm of the Charismatic movement. Joyce Meyer has made the statement that we are not to teach or speak to the mind, but to the heart.  Graham Cooke takes it even further in this video:
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi6nZA2wUqo

Feeling and experience are touted as the way to know God instead of their rightful place as the result of knowing God. The deeper spiritual life, the deeper communion and fellowship with Christ is not  the result of checking our mind at the door of experience, but the result of our seeking after Him, of knowing Him more fully. The Christian life is not one that is dry and devoid of feeling or experience, but the experience is the result of knowing Him not vice versa. Paul talks about this in Philippians 3:8-12 and it is spoken to in Hosea 6:3,6. In fact, we should not try and manufacture the experience because that becomes a work of the flesh and is profitable only for the flesh.

So, my friends, are you truly seeking God or are you seeking an experience, or are you seeking God through an experience? Take a step back and look at yourself and your family. Are you addicted to the experience so much that you can't let go even though you know that what you are getting is not good for your soul and the souls of your family? The true experience comes from God by and through His Spirit and His Word, at His discretion; and is profitable for our spirit, and is rich, satisfying, and lasting. Those who truly encounter God must come to Him in Spirit and truth, and for such He is always seeking. 

Proverbs 16:25 tells us that there is a way which seems right to man, but it only leads to death. There is only one narrow well worn way to God and to intimacy with God, His word, which is truth; as it gives us the knowledge of the Son of God, who is the truth, and knowing Him is truly the greatest experience any of us can have.

God's Common Grace

 For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, 

and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Matthew 5:45

For He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Luke 6:35  

Yes, God is good and does good, but He does good to all and for all, and all of us, believer and unbeliever, are the beneficiaries of His immeasurable goodness.  This is common grace, unmerited favor, bestowed upon believer and unbeliever alike. Psalm 145:9 says, "The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works."  God's common grace flows out of and is an extension of His goodness.  Oh, that those who are not His, would see and rejoice, and come to faith.  Then they would experience special grace, saving grace, which is the ultimate expression of His goodness.

Thank you, O Lord, for the common grace through which You have blessed all men; and thank you for Your saving grace, which is the greatest blessing of all. May those who do not know You consider Your common grace and in response turn to You for Your special and saving grace. 

Children, Youth Ministry, and Spiritual Leadership

It is not the youth ministry, nor fun,

nor their relationship with the church,

or their relationship with their friends

that will keep your children faithful,

it is their relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

 


After living in our town for 35 years it is not uncommon for me to run across someone whom I have not seen in a number of years.  In our conversations we usually talk about our children and where we are going to church.  Almost invariably the reason given for where they are attending church is that is where their children had friends, and the friends were the reason the children wanted to go to that particular church, or that particular church's youth ministry had more activities for their kids.

Now before you start howling and throwing rocks, let me say that I believe youth ministry is important, very important. However, think through this with me, and lets look at what is really going on here. If you asked every one of the parents I talked with, they would tell you that they are the spiritual leaders in their home. But are they, really? When you make the decision, to go to a certain church because that's where your children's friends are, or because that's where they can make friends, or because if you don't go there your children will be upset, have you really made the decision. No, your children have made the decision for you, and you have acquiesced. In doing this you have abdicated your position as spiritual leader of the home, and your children have become the de facto spiritual leaders. What is disturbing is that this mindset is not the exception, it is the rule, and has been the prevailing mindset over the last 20-30 years.

One of the alarming statistics that has come out concerning the church is that over 70% of children raised in church don't set foot in the door of the church after they leave home. You might be tempted to say that this proves the importance of having your children attend church where they enjoy it, and where their friends are so that they will continue to come. The problem with that line of thought is that this statistic has come after the 20-30 years when one of the prevailing reasons why people attend certain churches are the reasons I mentioned above. So, obviously, letting your children go to church where they want to so that they won't have a bad taste in their mouths about church has not worked.

In choosing a church based on friendships or fun, what have you communicated to your children about the real importance of church...worship of God, learning the Scriptures, learning sound doctrine, becoming more Christlike, ministering to others in the body, and service to God? You haven't.

Parents, we are called to be the spiritual leaders in our homes, for our families. Spiritual leadership is not choosing a church because your children want to go there because it's fun or because their friends go there; in fact, in exercising your leadership, your children might be disappointed, even upset, because you aren't going where they want to go, but are going where they need to go. It is much like feeding your children. Do you let them eat just what they want to eat, or do you require them to eat what is good for them until they develop a taste for it (even though they throw a fit or pout), and that becomes what they desire and what they will continue to eat after they leave your home. The same principle applies to spiritual things.  Making or keeping your children happy or being worried about having to endure their displeasure is not spiritual leadership.  

It is not the youth ministry, nor fun, nor their relationship with the church, or their relationship with their friends that will keep your children faithful, it is their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Exercise your spiritual leadership in choosing a church that is sound in the faith, teaches the Scriptures to all ages, presents the gospel, and is concerned about your children's spiritual growth and faith in Christ. Make sure that these are emphasized in their program, not fun and friends.

Hey, it's lonely at the top, and a little rough at times, too. But that is why God made parents, that is the position and role God has assigned to us. Don't let your children down, for now and for eternity; but be the spiritual leaders, be strong, be spiritually courageous, and your children will one day rise up and call you blessed.

Thank You R C Sproul

Election, how I hated that word.  I first heard it when a friend's brother (whose name I cannot remember as this was the only time I met with him) came over one night about a year after I began to teach Sunday School at our church in Dallas. He tried in vain to convince me that God elects those who will be saved, and not only that but that they were elect before the foundation of the world. What a horrible picture to paint of God!  How could the Lord be so unfair!

That began an almost weekly discussion each Wednesday after teacher's meeting with my teaching mentor and the teacher of teachers at my church.  I couldn't believe he took the side of my friend's brother.  He always used more Scripture than I did, but I always chalked that up to the fact that he knew the Bible way better than I did and was graduating from Seminary. He and I never settled our friendly disagreement as the following year we moved to Midland, Texas.

Fast forward to 1990, and I had been leading the teachers in a Sunday School Department and also leading a Precept Bible Study for the five years we had been in Midland, and I was still struggling with election. As I was studying one night I came across Psalm 103:19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. The power of the verse overwhelmed me and the thought came to me quickly and forcefully, "If His sovereignty rules over all then it rules over salvation as well." This verse was the rock that when grasped unleashed an avalanche of Scripture, Scripture that I had been wrestling with, Scripture from beginning to end in the Bible that showed God's sovereignty in calling men and women to Himself, Scripture that showed His sovereign Divine providence in guiding and orchestrating the path and affairs of their life, and how His sovereign purposes were carried out in spite of their sin and weakness. This went on for a couple of hours as Scripture after Scripture came to me and I bowed my knee to their overwhelming weight. Verses that had been troublesome for me suddenly took on a clarity and forcefulness and I saw the grace of our Lord like I had never seen it.  The Bible became more alive and had a depth that I had never seen before.  At that moment I knew election was true and right and real.

This is where R C Sproul comes in.  As providence would have it, about this time I ran across a Tabletalk magazine and after reading it I subscribed to it.  R C's articles were always lucid and meaty and usually caused me to think more deeply about the topic he was addressing.  Along with my own study, it was a rich time for me spiritually and I came to an understanding of the doctrines of grace, although I did not know that is what they were called.  In the spring of 1992 Tabletalk had an ad for a Ligonier conference in San Diego, and in addition to R C being there, another pastor whom I admired would be speaking as well, so I was off to the conference.  It was at this conference that I found my spiritual home, as I listened to the speakers...James Boice, Ed Clowney, John Gerstner, Sinclair Ferguson, John MacArthur, and R C I realized that I was among people who thought and believed like I did, although with much more depth and wisdom.  It was here that I realized that I was reformed, not in the classic or Presbyterian sense (as a Southern Baptist I hold to believer's baptism, local church autonomy, along with some other doctrinal differences), but as regards the doctrines of grace, the inerrancy of Scripture, and the Five Solas. 

In the intervening years I have attended several Ligonier conferences, read books by R C, listened to his teaching and the teaching of others whom he has introduced me too.  All of this has aided my understanding and appreciation of the wonderful Word of God.  He has been one of the greater influences on my spiritual life and its growth, and there is so much that I have appreciated about him.  In each age God has raised up pillars in the church, and R C was truly one for our age.

Now he has gone on to be present with the Lord, and will take his place with others who are waiting to receive their glorified bodies at the resurrection to become complete in the completeness of Christ. There has been such an outpouring of tributes and approbations for R C from so many of the well known and those who knew him well, dealing with so much that I have not mentioned here.  I just want to say, as an unknown and unknown to R C, thank you R C Sproul, thank you for all you have meant to me in my spiritual life and journey in growing in the grace and knowledge of my beloved Savior.

God Made Visible and Knowable

In Psalm 77, Asaph the Psalmist says, "The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; lightning lit up the world. The earth quakes and shook. Your way went through the sea, and Your path through the great waters, yet Your footprints were unseen."

The power of the invisible God is displayed all around us, and cannot escape our notice; but God has not remained unseen as He has become flesh and has lived and walked among us in the person of Jesus Christ. This is why when Philip said to Christ, "Show us the Father."  Jesus replied "If you have seen Me You have seen the Father." 

In Christ we have the fullness of God in bodily form. To see Christ was to see God, and to know Christ is to know God.

This is what is behind Christ's statement in John 17:3, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." We come to the invisible God through the visible Son, and we come to know God, through that same Son.

May we all come to know Jesus Christ and know Him well, so that we can experience the fullness and abundance of eternal life.

We are a Letter of Christ

 You are our letter, written in our hearts,

known and read by all men; being manifested

that your are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, 

written not with ink but with the Spirit of the

living God, not on tablets of stone but on

tablets of human hearts.

II Corinthians 3:2-3

When we sin it is not just about our sin and how it affects our relationship with God, but is also about our being His letter that men know and read.  Are we living in a way that, when read, the letter of our life is bringing Him glory among men, the glory due His marvelous and matchless name?

Holy Love

"So the God who is love is first and foremost light, and sentimental ideas of his love as an indulgent, benevolent softness, divorced from moral standards and concerns, must therefore be ruled out from the start.  God's love is holy love.  The God whom Jesus made known is not a God who is indifferent to moral distinctions, but a God who loves righteousness and hates iniquity, a God whose ideal for his children is that they should 'be perfect...as your heavenly father is perfect' (Mt 5:48). He will not take into his company any person, however orthodox in mind, who will not follow after holiness of life.

...God's love is stern, for it expresses holiness in the lover and seeks holiness for the beloved.  Scripture does not allow us to suppose that because God is love we may look to him to confer happiness on people who will not seek holiness, or to shield his loved ones from trouble when he knows that they need trouble to further their sanctification."

J I Packer
Knowing God
Page 122

The Pastoral Desire

The following is an excerpt I ran across from the book Pastoral Ministry, written by members of the Master's Seminary.

"Paul introduced the qualification of the pastor by extolling the ambitions to pursue the office and the function of an elder.  In fact, he spoke of pursuing that office with intense desire (I Tim. 3:1 epithumeo).  It is true that ambition, when selfishly motivated, is dangerous.  At this time restraint and caution should prevail.  However, ambition not motivated by eagerness for the prestige of power but rather by a passion to serve the Master is right.  Desire for positional prestige corrupts because it originates from impure motives (see Jer. 45:5). Yet desire for service purifies, because it seeks only the service of the one who has been called to service (Rom. 12:1; Mark 10:42-44). The true spiritual leader is concerned infinitely more with the service he can render God and his fellowmen..."

A Daily Prayer

Lord, guide me with the wisdom from Your Word.

Protect me from the weakness and blindness of my pride.

Strengthen me to stand for You and speak Your truth.

Prepare my mouth and other's hearts for gospel opportunities.

May I be mindful of bringing glory to You.

 

Faith, Hope, and Love at Work in the Church: Hope

The Place of Our Hope
"because of the hope laid up 
for you in heaven...."

Colossians 1:5a

First lets talk about what hope is.  The Greek word for hope means something different from our English word.  When we use the word hope we mean a strong desire or a fervent wish for something, and we are not sure if we will get what we want; maybe we will, maybe we won’t.  However, the word, the concept of hope in the Greek conveys something different from our view of hope.  The word for hope in the Greek is elpis and it means a sure and confident expectation, not something dreaded, but a joyful knowing anticipation of something yet future.  It is like the picture of the watchman in Psalm 130.  Here we see the watchman as he waits for the dawn with a confident knowing expectation that the dawn will come, no matter how dark or long the night.  This is a firm ground of expectation.  This is hope.

Now lets see why we have hope, this confident expectation, for there must be a reason for hope, there must be a basis for hope, there must be a ground for our hope to rest upon.  For us as Christians that ground is Jesus Christ; He is our firm ground of expectation.  As the God-man He lived a sinless life in our stead.  As the Psalmist says we are born in sin, and therefore we are incapable of not sinning, so Jesus lived a sinless life for us.  He suffered a vicarious and substitutionary death on the cross by taking on the punishment for sin and the death that was rightfully ours, and it was at the cross that the great exchange took place.  Paul explains this in II Corinthian 5:21 in that Christ became sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  He was then buried and was the grave for three days until God raised Him up victorious over Satan and the grave with the keys of death and Hell in His hand.  Then Christ ascended into heaven to the right hand of the Father where He ever lives to make intercession to God on our behalf.  All of this has been done by Christ for us, and it is this, this finished and complete work of Christ that has made our salvation not just possible, but for those who looked to Christ and Christ alone as the Savior, it has made salvation certain and heaven our sure and eternal destination.   This is the ground of our hope, and this present reality of our future place and position has as its unshakeable foundation that which Jesus Christ has accomplished on our behalf.  This is why we sing “Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.  I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.  On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.”  Only in Christ is there a hope, a sure and confident expectation for the future, and our future is eternity.  Through Christ God has given us a future to hope for, a future to desire, and a future to look forward to with joyful anticipation.

In verse 5, the words laid up are one word in the Greek and mean to be stored up, to await, to reserve.  So we see that this hope is not for here and now, but for heaven.  So we are to have a joyful knowing anticipation of heaven.  This is what Paul was talking about in I Corinthians 15:19 when he said “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”  Friends, we should be looking forward to heaven just as the watchman looks forward to the dawn.  Heaven should be a present daily reality for us, just as the coming dawn was an anticipated reality for the watchman in Psalm 130.

Another reason for our hope is that this is the plan of God for us, and we know from Job 42:2 that no purpose of God can be thwarted.  In thinking about our hope, our confidence in what God has done for us, I am reminded of a couple of verses in the Old Testament.  First Isaiah 25:1 “O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; for You have worked wonders, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.” and Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”  All that Christ has done for us has been in the mind of God from eternity past.  From all eternity it has been His plan to do this for us in Christ, not because we deserved it or could somehow earn it, but because of His great love for us; and because of the abundance of His lovingkindness He has done this so that we could spend the rest of eternity as His people and He as our God.  We know from Philippians 1:6 that what God has started in us He will complete.  So we can rest assured that God will completely perform His purpose and fully carry out His plan.  In Psalm 138:8 God tells us that He will accomplish what concerns us.  What concerns us most is our salvation and our redemption, not just of our soul, but of our entire person, both the inner and the outer man.  Let’s look at I Thessalonians 5:23-24.  Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.  This is what John was referring to in his epistle chapter 3 verses 2-3.  Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.  We know that when He appears, that we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure.  What makes this possible, rather, what makes this certain?  It is the finished and complete work of Christ.  This is our joyand our delight, to look forward with confidence to the completion of our salvation as we stand before the Lord holy, blameless, and complete in the completeness of Christ.

Finally, our hope is laid up for us in heaven because Jesus is there.  Let’s look at John 14:1-6.   Here we have one of the great promises in Scripture.  Christ is preparing a place for us and where is this place?  It is in heaven, in His Father’s house.  Not only is He preparing a place for us, but He is promising to come again and take us to Himself so that we can be with Him in heaven.  Next He says something heart catching; it is that we know the way, the way to heaven, and that He is that way, the only way.  Do you want to go to heaven?  Well then, are you following Christ?  He alone is the way; He alone is that narrow way with the narrow gate that leads to heaven.  No other way will take you there.  There are several verses in Hebrews which also speak to this.  Hebrews 4:12 tells us that we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.  Hebrews 8:12 tells us that we have such a high priest who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. The fact that Jesus has taken His seat signifies that His work is completed, and the fact that He is seated at God’s right hand shows us that His work has found favor with God and has pleased God.   So we see that His work of accomplishing our salvation was finished, and the purpose and pleasure of God was completed when He passed through the heavens into the very presence of God Himself.  There is nothing left for Him to do to ascertain our salvation.   Hebrews 9:24 tells us that Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.  It is for us, those who believe in His name, that He has done all of this.  Christ has not done this for those who spurn Him, for those who have Him in low regard, for those who have not trusted in Him as their Savior, but He has done this for those of us who love Him and cherish Him, for those who are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 

Hebrew 6:19-20 tells us that this hope we have is an anchor of the soul, and it is sure and steadfast.  What does an anchor do?  It holds the ship and does not let it drift.  It was used in times of a storm to keep the ship from being blown off course or to keep it from crashing on the rocks.  That is the picture of what our hope, this sure and confident expectation, does for us in the times of storm in our life.  It anchors us, keeps our life and faith from being blown off course.  When our life is the darkest, when we have the times that we are tired and disgusted of dealing with the sin that so easily entangles us, we can joyfully and confidently anticipate our arrival in heaven, we can look forward to the freedom from the travails of this world and the struggles with our own flesh.  We know that this is coming just as sure as the dawn. We also see that our hope is one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us.  What does this tell us?  First that Jesus has passed through the heavens and behind the veil as our forerunner.  A forerunner is one who goes before, to make the path, to blaze the trail so that others can follow.  In the OT tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, (which was where the presence of God hovered over the mercyseat), was partitioned by a veil and only the High Priest could enter once a year on the day of atonement.  When Christ was crucified the veil in the temple was rent from top to bottom signifying that the way to the presence of God was now open, and in Hebrews we see that it is Jesus, the God-man who has entered the true heavenly tabernacle before us so that we might be able to come into heaven itself to be in the presence of God.       

Hebrews 12:22-23 tells us that we have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn  who are enrolled in heaven.  .  . Now we also see from this last verse that we are enrolled in heaven.  This word enroll means to record, to register, as on a roll or census.  So we see our name is registered as one who belongs in heaven, and no one whose name is not registered can enter into heaven.  It is like going to an invitation only event and having your name checked at the door to see if it is on the guest register.  Only those who have trusted Christ as the only way to heaven can have that sure and confident expectation that their name is on that roll.

Yes, our hope is in heaven because Jesus is there.  Is this your hope my friends, is this your joyful anticipation that is as sure as the dawn coming.  Are you looking forward with a confident expectation to being with Jesus?  Do you have hope today of seeing Jesus face to face because you know your name is on heaven’s roll?  You see heaven is ours, but it is not for those who have not trusted in Christ.  For them this world is all that they have.  That is why they are so attached to the things of this world; that is why they act the way they do.  This is the reason behind their greed, selfishness, jealousy, the storing up of treasures for themselves upon earth.  This is why Christ tells us not to be like them, but to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven.  This is why we are not to set our mind on the things of earth, but on the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  These are the ones who are separated from Christ, without God, who have no hope.  Heaven is ours, it is where our hope is to be, and it is what God has given us through Christ.  Oh friends, take your eyes off of the world and look to heaven, where Jesus awaits.  Let the reality of heaven, the eternal blessing of being in the presence of God, be your confident and joyful anticipation.