The Key to Our Spiritual Service of Worship

In Romans 12:3 Paul gives an instruction and admonition to all Christians, and it is, "I say to everyone of you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but think so as to have sound judgment."  The context of this verse is our spiritual service of worship and what is required of us to so that we can present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice.

What Paul is saying here is that in order for us to present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice we must not be conformed to this world, but be being continually transformed by the renewing of our mind; and in the renewing of our mind we should be at that point where we don't think too highly (and mistakenly) about ourselves; but should think soundly, truthfully, and forthrightly about ourselves.  In other words we should be brutally honest with ourselves about not just our strengths, but also about our weaknesses and inadequacies, and all of this primarily applies to our spiritual lives; and Paul says this because of the tendency in  us all to think too highly, maybe even unrealistically, about own own strengths and abilities.

The Bible is quite clear about our spiritual weakness.  In Romans 6:19 Paul talks about the weakness of our flesh.  In 7:14-25 he talks about his own spiritual struggles and inconsistencies.  In II Corinthians 2:17 he questions his adequacy for the gospel ministry.  In II Corinthians 1:8 he talks about being burdened beyond his strength and despairing of life. In II Corinthians 7:5-6 he talks about being fearful and depressed.   

In Hebrews 3:13 we are warned not to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  In Hebrews 5:12-14 we see that there are those who are still infants in the faith, and have to be taught the basics all over again. In Hebrews 12:1 we are told we have encumbrances to our faith and are easily entangled with sin.

In Philippians 3:15-16 Paul encourages us to not fall back in our faith, but to keep living by the same standard we have obtained.

In Galatians and Colossians Paul admonishes and warns those churches about the deception of the false teachers whom they have allowed to come into their midst.

In our flesh, we are no different than those who have gone before. So what should we do to think rightly, soundly and truthfully about ourselves.  What are the weaknesses in our flesh, that we need to be aware of, so that instead of depending on ourselves or not being honest with ourselves we can go to God for his grace and his strength to present our bodies a living sacrifice?  In our walk it would help us to be aware of these things about ourselves:

*The ceiling of our own understanding.
*The frailty of our own power.
*The lack of our own capabilities.
*The failings of our own strength.
*The emptiness of our own pride.
*The stumbling block of our own sin.
* The hindrance of our own fears.
*The stammering of our own tongue.
*The inconsistency of our resolve.
*The misplacing of our affections.
*The misdirection of our goals.
*The fickleness of our hearts.
*The blindness of our foresight.
*The limits of our endurance.
*The paltriness of our influence.
*The distraction of our attention.
*The deceitfulness of our riches.
*The inadequacy of our abilities.
*The poverty of our spirituality.

Yes, we are weak in our flesh, and in our own strength are incapable of bearing fruit for Christ, which is what Christ was telling the disciples in John 15:4-5.  But the good news here is that God has not left us mired in the muck or our own inadequacy, but quite the opposite. When we acknowledge our own weaknesses, inadequacies, fears, and doubts, and go to Him for His strength; we will find grace sufficient for every task, wisdom for every situation, strength for every endeavor, and His equipping for every good work, all supplied through Christ. (Hebrews 4:16, Philippians 4:13, II Corinthians 3:4-6, II Corinthians 12:9-10, I Corinthians 1:24-31, Galatians 2:20, I Corinthians 15:10, II Timothy 1:7)

It is when we judge ourselves rightly that we have the proper perspective regarding ourselves in relation to the life that the Lord has called us to live, and the deeds that He has for us to do. It is then that we have the right view of ourselves, and can go to the Lord and ask for His provision.

There is a saying that gets thrown around a lot in Christian circles, and it is this: "God will not give you more than you can handle."  This is a false statement as God is always giving us more than we can handle, as He wants us to realize and acknowledge that apart from Him we can accomplish nothing of spiritual value, and are spiritually powerless; but that with Him all things are possible. This is the precursor of coming to the point of maturity that we do not think more highly of ourselves than we ought.

So, my friends, let us think rightly, soundly, truthfully about ourselves, and in doing so make ourselves fit to present ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice to God in all of our endeavors.

Stop It, Enough Already, Man Up and Fess UP

I almost always keep quiet regarding Christian personalities and issues (unless it is false teaching), as it is too easy for it to turn into self-righteous character assassination or internet gossip.  However, I am out of patience with those who supported and promoted Mark Driscoll remaining silent, unrepentant, and unapologetic.

Too many pastors, young and older, were influenced by him.  Too many people were damaged and savaged by him.  The cause of Christ was wounded because of him, all while the warning signs were there and were not hidden; and those who supported him and promoted him have remained silent.

Unfortunately, we are now subjected to this puff piece interview of John Piper.  Yes, what John says in this interview is true, but it makes him look like the wise sage now that the carnage is over, while ignoring his association and promotion of Mark Driscoll.  This piece provides cover for him by letting him address, from a distance of time, what happened without calling him to take responsibility for his part in the victory against the church he says Satan has had in this situation.  It allows him to take the the "high, noble, and wise ground" as if he had nothing to do with it.  John Piper is one of the main reasons Mark Driscoll had a national following, and for John to continue avoiding the responsibility for his fomenting of Mark Driscoll's reputation is unconscionable.  For The Gospel Coalition to do the interview and air this piece is just as unconscionable.

John and The Gospel Coalition, for the sake of the church you say you love and its unity, come out boldly and admit your part in the Mark Driscoll debacle.  It would go a long way toward healing and the restoration of trust in your ministries and motives.

See the interview below by following the link below.

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/reflections-on-mark-driscoll-and-the-mars-hill-implosion

The Old Gospel, a Gospel Worth Preaching

https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2000/the-old-gospel-and-the-new/

Truth and Right Thinking

For as he thinks within himself, so he is...

Proverbs 23:7

The Bible tells man what to think, how to think, and why to think. It tells us of the benefits of right thinking and the consequences of wrong thinking. It presents the foundation of right thinking, which is the knowledge of God Himself, and the corresponding knowledge of man himself.  

The Bible is the foundation for right thinking because it presents to us the truth about God, and the truth about God becomes the mirror and backdrop from which we learn the truth about man, which is the truth about ourselves. We will never know the full truth about ourselves until we know the truth about God; and an important facet of knowing the truth about God is the belief and its consequential acceptance of what the Bible says about Him.  

Truth is reality, what is real, as compared to what is imagined, desired, or fantasized. The Bible presents life and existence (now and eternally) as it really is, not as we want it to be. The Bible presents God as He really is, not as we want Him to be or imagine Him to be. The Bible presents man (all of us) as he really is, not as we want him to be or imagine ourselves to be.

For a man to be right before God and to right with God, he must first think rightly about God and rightly about himself. Only the truth of God, found in the pages of the Bible can lead a man to the path and down the path to be right with God. God has given us the Bible for just that purpose, as He wants us to be right with Him.

Do you want to be right with God? Do you want to think rightly about God and about yourself? Then turn to the Bible, for it is there that you will find the foundation for right thinking, the truth.  

A Powerful Truth

Those who are meek before God, 

Will have the strength to be 

Unyielding before men.

II Corinthians 12:10

When Preaching on Hell and the Wrath of God

When preaching on hell and the wrath of God,

which you must if you are going to preach a complete gospel,

you must bring your hearers close enough to hell to feel its heat,

 and keep them there long enough to make them sweat.

A Prayer for the Day

Lord, cause me to walk blamelessly before You,

by the power of Your Spirit and the knowledge of Your Word.

Ignorance of the Scriptures

Ignorance of the Scriptures has given rise to thousands of evils.

From this seed the great corruption of heresies has blossomed;

from this spring have flowed careless living and wasted labors.

Just as anyone deprived of the light of this world cannot walk 

straight, so those who do not see the rays of the divine Scriptures

walk in thick darkness. They regularly and inevitably fall into many sins.

John Chrysostom 

Early Church Father

As it was then, so it is now. 

A Daily Perspective

 

It matters not the praise of men.

It matters only the pleasing of Him.

 

(Galatians 1:10)



A Truth for the Day

God’s discipline will always match our disobedience!!!

 

 

A Thought for the Day

 

You cannot be guided by circumstances when

you are refusing to be guided by God's word.

 

 

 



The Issue is not Homosexuality---

No, the issue is not homosexuality, it is sexual immorality, of which homosexuality is but one of its iterations.  Granted, homosexuality is a lower, more degraded form of sexual immorality (Romans 1:24-27); but the root issue here is one of sexual immoraltiy.  And what is sexual immorality?  It is the sexual activity outside of the marriage bond of a man and a woman.

What then would be included in sexual immorality?  Let's make a short list:

1. Fornication:  This includes casual sex, recreational sex, hooking up, one night stands, and even friends with benefits. Yes, even if you are serious about one another, in love, faithful or engaged to the one you are having sex with, all sex outside of the marriage union is immoral.  Whether you are 15 or 45, single, divorced, or never married, sex outside of marriage is a sin. The Bible calls this sin.

2. Adultery:  This sexual sin is well known, and unfortunately very common.  It is having sex with anyone other than your spouse after you have been married, or someone who is single having sexual relations with someone who is married, and it also includes those who have more than one spouse. Our culture has euphemized this term down to extra-marital sex or pre-marital sex.  It is never condoned in the Scriptures.

3. Pornography:  The root for this word is from the Greek word porneia, which means illegitimate sexual activity.  This sexual sin is a blight upon our society, and has spawned a huge internet industry.  Unfortunately, because sin can never be corralled, pornography has also extended its reach to children, and to the point of international child pornography rings.  I have heard some people say, well its just pictures, so what.  Well, that "so what" is still a sin.  Why?  Because you cannot look at pornorgraphic pictures and not be affected, and in all cases, isn't that why the pictures are viewed in the first place.  In Matthew 5:28 Jesus says, "but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  And yes, this applies to women as well, in the narrative pornography they read.  Most R rated movies contain pornography, and many of the PG-13 movies range from sexually suggestive to soft porn.

4. Incest:  This is sexual relations between immediate family members. I should not even have to mention this, but there is a push afoot to normalize this here in our country.  I remember on a trip to Paris back in the eighties seeing a music video on public television entitled "Incest is Good," and it showed an older man with a young girl. It was not graphic, but it made its point.

5. Homosexuality:  This sexual sin is between members of the same sex, and even though its proponents have tried to reword the Bible concerning this, it is always protrayed as a sin in the Scriptures.  So, even if the same sex couple is "married" it is still a sin.  Romans 1:24-27 lists two specific judgments of God on those who commit this sin, and the sex act is called shamless/indecent. 

These are the sexual sins that are common place in our country; and they all have their genesis in sexual immorality, the abandoning of a sexual morality that prescribed that sex was to be kept and to only take place within the bounds of a marriage relationship between a man and a woman.

Homosexuality is gaining a greater place at the table of normalcy because our soceity has become accepting and condoning of sex outside of marriage.  No thought or shame occurs any more because couples live together.  No thought or shame occurs anymore because someone becomes pregnant outside of marriage.  No thought or shame occurs anymore when unmarried people talk candidly about their sex lives in any media outlet. Once the barrier of shame has been taken away concerning sex outside of marriage, then it is only a short distance to the removal of all sexual shame.

Every magazine at the cashier's stand will have some article dealing with sex, and it is almost never about sex between marriage partners.  Our culture has becomed consumed by sex, and thereby have become consumers of sex.  There is such a preoccupation with sex in our society, that many pastors have sermon series on sex so they can be considered relevant with the times.

Heterosexual sex outside of marriage has been normalized in our culture, and the logical next step of the normalization of sex outside of marriage is the acceptance and promotion of homosexuality.  In light of this, the stand that the church should take is not against homosexuality per se, but should be against any and all sexual immorality, all that the Bible lists as sexual immorality.  In a very real sense, the church has waited too long to speak out.  Because the church has been silent all these years regarding the proliferation of the acceptance of sex outside of marriage, speaking out against homosexuality now makes it appear that the church is singling out the homosexuals.

Let us as the church, as individual Christians, speak up and out against all sexual immorality.  Let us speak up and out for a biblical sexual morality.  Let us call all sexual immorality what it is, sin before a Holy God.

Prosperity Theology and Christ

The Prosperity Gospel wing of the Charismatic camp is its dominant, most popular, therefore its most visible wing.  Prosperity theology never considers God Himself in the person of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ worth knowing.  Therefore Prosperity preaching never presents God Himself, never presents Christ, as someone who is worth knowing. They never present the Lord as the pearl of great value, as the One who surpasses all else in value, as the One who surpasses all that is in this world.  Their emphasis is not on Him, but is solely on the things of the world that you can get from Him, as His only value is in what you can get from Him. 

What does the Bible tell us?  "What does it avail a man to have the whole world, yet lose His own soul?" Friends, don't forsake the Lord, don't ignore the Lord, for the mess of pottage that this world and its Prosperity preachers offer.  For the world and all that is in it is passing away, and one day will be destroyed.  We entered this world with nothing and will leave it with nothing.  All the things of this world will pass, and it is only a relationship with Christ that will last.

Being a Gay Christian (?) and Our Identity in Christ

We, as the church, must understand what has truly happened by being "in Christ."  Our identity, how we define ourselves, must be based on what God has done for us through salvation in Jesus Christ, not on who we used to be.

One thing that continues to bother me is the special status that is accorded to being gay. Now it’s gay Christian. See this article: http://www.worldmag.com/2014/12/wheaton_s_gay_celibate_christian
Why not prostitute Christian, or gluttoness Christian, or pornography Christian, or alcoholic Christian, or ex-con Christian, or wife-beating Christian? I think you get my drift.

If we as Christians are truly washed, then we are also made new; the old man has died, and the new man has arisen with Christ. We are not that old man any more as we have been made new in Christ, and as we continue to be conformed into His image we grow to be more like Christ and the person that we were is left further and further behind.

Does this mean that we have left behind particular temptations and their pull, such as gluttony, or pornography, or alcohol, or homosexuality, or immorality, or sensuality, or pride, or covetousness, or worldliness behind? No, but it does mean that we have victory over those temptations when they occur by the power of Christ in us.  We have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6-7) and it is no longer we that live, but Christ who lives and reigns in us.

One of the problems in our current church culture is that we, many times, have adopted the philosophy of the 12-step therapeutic culture. Such as once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic; once a sex-addict, always a sex addict, so that we are always in a state of recovery, but never recovered. This tends to be applied to being gay as well…once gay, always gay. The result of this is that people become defined/identified by what they were/who they were, not by who they are now. Paul tells all of us this in I Corinthians 6:9-11 “ Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of God.”  Jeremiah 17:14 tells us this, “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for You are my praise.” We are now in Christ, healed in Christ and saved in Christ. In Christ the old man is dead, long live our new man and our new identity.

God's Grace for the Prodigal Son

The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 is the most beautiful picture of the grace of God in the Bible. Grace is the term the Bible uses to describe the unconditional favor that God bestows on any and all that come to Him. It means that He is favorably disposed to those who come, He does not count their past against them (II Corinthians 5:21), He is eager to receive them and forgive them (Psalm 86:5), He will abundantly pardon them (Isaiah 55:7), and He will keep them and never let them go (Romans 8:35-39). This grace is everyone's for the asking.

In the story of the prodigal son we see God's grace for those will repent and turn to Him. God's grace is exemplified in this story, a truly amazing story of an amazing God. What makes the story so amazing and so compelling is that there is a sense in which all of us fit into the role of the prodigal. Some of us have never considered having a relationshiop with God, others of us have been close to God, but for reasons much like the prodigal in the story, we have wandered away from God. In either case we have found ourselves in a far country, far away from the love of the Father who created us in His likeness.

Despite our distance from Him, and despite the reason(s) for our distance from Him, He is eager and willing to take us to Himself if we would but lift up our eyes and heart toward Him. The picture in this story of the father lifting up his robe to run to the son coming home, is a beautiful picture of the joyous response God has when we come to Him; and this joyous response is for whomever will come, no matter who they are.

And come we may, but we must come to the Father through the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6).  This is the way God has provided for us to come to Him, into His very presence. Christ lived a perfect life by being perfectly obedient to the will of the Father (John 14:31) for us, and then dying for the sins of all who would believe in Him and turn to Him as the Savior. So, because of His life and His sacrifice, He is the only way to come to God. It is the grace of our good God that has provided a way to come to Him and be with Him for all eternity, when we were totally impotent to make a way to Him on our own.

How about you my friend?  Are you in that far country, far away from God; or are you near, but yet so far away, as the other brother in the story. In either case, turn to God and He will come running to meet you with arms wide open and joy in His heart.

Preaching to Inspire Worship?

In our preaching, does the way we present

God and His Son show their worth so as

to inspire the people to get out of bed on

Sunday to come and worship them?

Do we present God as God Most High,

and do we present Christ as Lord of all?

A Daily Prayer

Lord, I want to live this day for You,

use me as You will.

Peace on Earth

These are the lyrics the song in the link is based upon. With the current racial issues in our country, ISIS and Islamic terrorism, Russia-Ukraine...all just this year, may we remember the promise regarding the One whose birth we celebrate this month. "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; ans His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) The peace talked about in this poem, and the peace sung about in this song, is the peace that is promised in this verse, the peace yet to come; but the peace that will come when our Lord, the Prince of Peace, comes back and reigns upon the earth, and His reign will be a reign of peace. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Christmas Bells

I HEARD the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Peace on earth begins with peace with God.  You can have peace with God through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.  In Christ God has reconciled the world unto Himself.  Place your trust in what God has done in His Son, and receive your peace with Him.

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2014/12/10/i-heard-the-bells-on-christmas-day/

Vengeance and Vindication--Leave Both to the Lord

This post is a bit personal. No, scratch that, it is all personal. What brings this about is a sighting I had a couple of nights ago that caused an unexpected large wave of emotion to wash over me, much like having one of those large waves at the beach slam into you with a force you were not anticipating; and as a result I found myself in the midst of a battle between my flesh and my spirit.

The genesis of this occurred back in the mid to late nineties during the hottest part of the inerrancy battle happening in the Southern Baptist Convention. The SBC church I was attending at that time was considered one of the flagship churches in the convention as it was the largest giver to the cooperative program, which was and is the funding mechanism that undergirds the SBC and its agencies, both in the states and nationally. Needless to say, this church exerted much influence, not just in Texas, but nationally as well; and because of this influence was a plum that both sides wanted in their basket. While we were certainly not the only church to experience the battle in the midst of our church, because of who we were, the battle that took place in our church was more intense than was probably the norm in most churches.

Even though the root and core issue of the controversy was due to the theological issue of inerrancy, due to the political process that was being used by the conservatives to regain control of the convention, the war was being fought on two fronts. One front was the theological front, where the battle was for the hearts and minds of the people, and the other battle was along the political front where the actual control of the national and state associations was being fought out. This led to the battle coming all the way down to the local church, both for their hearts and minds and for which side would lead and control the church.

Without going into too much detail, our church was dominated by those who called themselves moderates, and we had a particularly militant group of moderates who were involved both financially and politically in the battle both in the state and nationally; and this group was determined to bring our church around to fully support the moderate camp. It was indeed a sad time for our church, as this group of people injected their political agenda into nearly every area of our church. Even to the point that during a personnel committee meeting they brought up terminating some staff members who would not support them on a vote during the latest business meeting.

During this time I was actively recruited by this group of moderates, and by a group of conservatives from a state organization; but I would not align myself with either. Even though I was and am an inerrantist, I would not align myself with the conservative group that recruited me because I did not like their approach. As a Deacon and Deacon officer and a teacher and teacher of teachers, I did not want to get involved with the the politics as they were being played out in our church, but instead focused upon trying to block those who would politicize and cause disunity and dissension in our church. Proverbs 6:16-19 lists seven things which the Lord hates and which are an abomination to Him; and coming in at number seven is "One who spreads strife among his brothers." I took these verses seriously, and decided that I would do what I could to protect the unity of our church while standing up for the truth.

The issues that were being foisted upon our church by this militant group of moderates had nothing to do with the theological battle, but were all about them exerting their control and influence on our church to further their political agenda; and because of their tactics they were causing strife and promoting strife and dissension in our fellowship. I quoted this section of Proverbs one night during a deacon's meeting, and asked all of us who were attending to examine ourselves to see if this if what we were doing. The meeting was suddenly quiet, and I was met with stony glares by several who were of the militant group.

It was after one of our deacon's meetings during this time that I was approached by the pastor who told me that even though I had refused to get involved with the politics, everyone assumed that I was in the conservative camp because of my strong stand on the Word of God. My response to him was, "I guess that shows that the real issue here is theological, doesn't it." At that he wheeled around, and did not talk to me again before he left the church to take another pastorate.

What I began to realize during this time was the ill will that the militant moderate group had developed for me. One of the older and wiser deacons nominated me for deacon chairman two years in a row. When I asked him why he did so, he told me that he knew I would not win, but it showed him who was in which camp by those who voted for me or against me. He even told me that there were those he knew that were on the fence politically, but he wanted to see if they would vote against me in order not to draw the ire of the militant moderates. So it was during this time that I began to experience the backlash of ill will that this militant group of moderates had for me.

I say all of this to bring us to the event of the other night. In 1999 this church planted another church in our town. I was one of those who left to plant that church (this was before the Lord called my to plant our current church, Grace Covenant).  After I left the church, I was savaged and slandered by some of the militant moderate group, and had my character and reputation assaulted by being accused of things that I never did. One lady in particular even went before the pastoral staff and some deacons and lied and slandered me as one of the pastoral staff stood by and tacitly agreed with her, even though he knew differently. This lady and her husband were a part of the militant moderate group, and she is unaware that I know this.

As you might have guessed, it was her that I saw the other night at a Christmas function with my family. She and her husband came in and sat down to our left in the row in front of us. This was the first time I have seen her since we left that church. As I said in the opening paragraph, I was not prepared for the wave of emotion that hit me, and in my spirit I wrestled with my flesh as anger and resentment of her lies about me and her seemingly getting away with it brought about a desire for vengeance and vindication; and I had thoughts about her that were not nice.

In God's economy and providence, the play we were attending lasted two and an half hours, so I had plenty of time to wrestle through this and confess my sin to the Lord, and ask Him to work in my heart to forgive her, and not be embittered toward her. This was a test for me, and an opportunity to take the Lord at His word, and apply that word to my life. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." says the Lord. Do not return evil for evil (even in your heart), but give a blessing instead. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Bless those who persecute you, bless and curse not. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Be like Joseph, who said to his brothers, "What you meant as evil against me, God meant for good." Many times in the Psalms we see David cry out for the Lord to vindicate him, and in those cries we see the patient confidence of David, that the Lord would do just that, and we also see David's willingness to wait for the Lord to vindicate him, and not seek to vindicate himself.

I share this to encourage others who may read this. Others who have gone through much worse at the hands of their enemies, even at the hands of those who call themselves Christian brothers or sisters. Friends, when we suffer, let us suffer as Christians, and according to the word of God, not seeking our own vengeance and vindication, but trusting our Almighty, sovereign and good Lord to bring about His desired result in our life and the lives of others. And when you are confronted with such a situation, He will give you all the grace you need to have victory over your flesh.

Spiritual Enablement and Empowerment

...faith involves both renunciation and reliance.

We have to first renounce all confidence in our

own power and then rely entirely on the power 

of the Holy Spirit.  We must be enabled, not merely

helped.  What's the difference?  The word help implies 

we have some ability but not enough; we need 

someone else to supplement our partially adequate

ability.  By contrast, enablement implies that we 

have no ability whatsoever.  We're entirely powerless.

We can do nothing.  But when by faith we renounce 

self-sufficiency and embrace reliance on the power

of the Holy Spirit, we receive divine empowerment,

enablement, and strength for personal transformation

and ministry.

Jerry Bridges

Bob Bevington

The Bookends of the Christian Life

Page 85

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear

fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can

you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the 

branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears

much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

John 15:4-5

Blessed is man who trusts in the Lord and whose

trust is the Lord.

Jeremiah 17:7

A faith that does not rest fully on the Lord is an incomplete faith, a faith that is not fully mature. In one way or the other, this applies to all of us. I am reminded of the man who called out to Jesus, "I believe, help my unbelief."  This is a cry that all of us could make. Our faith should rest fully on Christ, both for our salvation and our sanctification. Just as we did not begin our spiritual life without the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot live our spiritual life apart from His enabling power.

In applying this to our lives, it should even affect how we pray. How many times have we asked the Lord to help us versus empower or enable us? Yes, we are responsible, and we must act and we must do; but in our acting and doing He is the One enabling and empowering. The Scriptures do not give us a formula for this, for faith does not have a formula. We walk by faith, faith in Him and not in ourselves, which should lead to trust in Him and not in ourselves.

When I was a child, my mother would never let me use the phrase 'I can't' for her reply would be, "Can't never could do anything." Then she would tell me the story of the little engine who could, and for those who don't know the story, the little engine would chant, "I know I can, I know I can." as he was pulling the huge load up the steep hill. This kind of human effort, the positive can do attitude, has polluted our minds, and is one of the humanisms we bring into our faith; and it rides into our Christian life on the back of our pride.

Renunciaton and reliance are an assault on our human pride, and require a submissive humility, which again, is quite impossible without His enabling power. It is only after we have been humbled by our spiritual impotency to overcome sin and to be pleasing to God, that we will ask for forgiveness and acceptance from Him so that we may be saved; and it is in a continued submissive humility that we ask for enablement and empowerment to live the life He has called us to live.

Even to the end, our spiritual life is designed so that the Lord receives the glory for it, not us. For all things are from Him, through Him, and to Him, and we exist for Him; and let us remember that we can do all things through......Him who strengthens us.  

Good Reflections from a Man of God

It is never too late to start, nor too early to begin.
Kevin Stilley says it well.  Here is the link.
http://buff.ly/1pS0B7f

A Prayer for Sunday

Father, speak Your Word through me this morning.

Through Your Word, train, instruct, strengthen,

encourage, and correct your people.  Send forth

Your Word attended by Your Spirit, so that it

may do all you have intended in the lives of those

who hear it today.  For Your glory and Your

kingdom. Amen

Living by Faith, Not by Sight

There was a blog post concerning II Corinthians 5:7, and its misuse and misapplication.  Below is my comment concerning this verse and the context in which it is in.

1. The section vs 7 is in begins with 4:13 when Paul states, “But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written…” The crescendo of this thought is in 4:18 “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

   Living by faith means seeing with eyes of faith, eyes that look to and see the eternal things, the things not seen. How do we see the unseen eternal things? We see them through the Word of God, the things written. Jesus speaks to this in John 8:56, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” We see another example in Moses in Hebrews 11:26-27, “considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.”

   Seeing is the equivalent of knowing, and we see this played out in the verses in chapter five that follow on the heels of 4:18:
   5:1 For we know…
   5:6 Therefore, being always of good courage and knowing
   5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord
   5:16 Therefore, from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have know Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

   Abraham and Moses saw eternal things, things not seen with human eyes, but with eyes of faith; and they saw these things through the promises of God. Even though unseen, the promises of God have substance and reality. We don’t see our Lord now, but believe in Him because we see Him in and through the Word of God. The Lord talks to us and we experience Him and come to know Him through the Word of God. When we take Him at His Word, and believe His Word, He opens our eyes to see Him and to know Him; and the eternal things become a present reality for us…just like they did for Abraham and Moses; and Paul.

   So, yes, living by faith is what all true Christians do. It is living with eyes of faith that see the unseen through the Word of God, because we believe the Word that has been spoken to us.
2. Also, here is the link to a post from 2010 where I address this.
3. http://morris-pressingon.blogspot.com/2010/11/eyes-of-faith.html

Essentials of the Christian Life---Faith, Hope, and Love

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three...

I Corinthians 13:13a

In this verse at the end of the love chapter in I Corinthians, Paul gives us the three Divine distinctives, the three essential qualities that mark the life of a believer. All three of these qualities are operative in the true Christian, and to the extent they are operative determines the quality and vitality and effectiveness of our spiritual lives.  Also, it is the operation of faith, hope and love in our life that is the source of our joy, and it is the extent to which these qualities are operative in our lives that determine the fullness of our joy.

Additionally, these qualities do not operate in isolation from each other, but operate in conjunction with each other.  Each directs, reinforces, and feeds the other. Faith is the foundation, love provides the motivation, and hope gives inspiration. As a cord of three strands is not easily torn apart (Ecclesiastes 4:12), so the Christian life that has faith, hope, and love stands strong against the perils of this world and the wiles of the devil.

Faith is the foundation, but without love faith becomes dry, barren, ritualistic, and formalized. Without love faith becomes a duty to be performed, not a life to be lived.  Love gives strength and vitality to faith and makes faith come alive. Love gives purpose to faith. (I Corinthians 13:2b, Galatians 5:6, John 14:21, 23, I Peter 1:22)

Hope causes faith to persevere by giving it a reason to persevere. Hope directs faith's attention from the life here and now to the life hereafter. Hope gives faith its eternal perspective. Hope is faith's anchor during the storms of this life, its restraint to keep it from heeding the siren calls of this world, and its beacon to keep it on course. (Hebrews 6:19, 11:1, Galatians 5:5, I Corinthians 15:19, Colossians 1:5)

My friends, are these three essentials present in your life?  If they are not, cry out to the Lord for Him to bring these into your life through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. If they are, seek to cultivate them all the more in order that your life in Christ may be full of His abundance and overflowing with His joy.

Letting the Peace of Christ Rule

This is a repost.

As believers we are to "Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts," (Colossians 3:15). So often we see this verse either ignored or misapplied, and it is because of a misunderstanding or a false assumption of what this peace is. So let's see if we can garner a better, a correct understanding of what the peace of Christ is and how it is manifested in our lives.

First off, this verse is in the middle of a section where Paul is talking about our common ground in Christ because He is all and is in all (3:11), and how this is manifested in our life in the church in how we treat and respond to one another in the body. So its primary application is for believers in the context of church life. So this peace of Christ is to rule, act as arbiter or umpire, in our dealings and interactions with other believers, especially those in our local body.

Secondly, what is this peace that Christ has, that is to be the umpire of our hearts, and how did we come to possess it? In John 14:27 Christ says, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you." So we see that it is Christ, Himself, that has given us His peace, and we have this peace because He has come and taken up residence in our heart; and we have become partakers of the divine nature (II Peter 1:4). The peace of Christ is the peace between Him and the Father. There was no enmity between the Father and the Son because Jesus always did the things that were pleasing to the Father (John 4:34, 5:30, 8:28-29, 8:42, 12:49, 14:10, 17:4, Matthew 3:17). Because of His perfect obedience to the Father there was unity and harmony between them with peace being the by-product of that unity and harmony. Christ had the same unity and harmony with the Father in His life here upon the earth that He had with the Father in eternity past. This is why Jesus could say, "I and the Father are One." (John 10:30, 17:11, 22-23). The body of Christ is to have and manifest the same unity and harmony within itself that exists between Christ and the Father (John 17:20-23).

Before salvation we were at enmity with God, we were His very enemies (Romans 5:10), but God reconciled us to Himself (made peace with us) through His Son (Romans 5:10, II Corinthians 5:18-19). The Father and the Son were at perfect peace, so that, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:29). So when we let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts it means that we are not to do anything that would disrupt our peace with our heavenly Father. Our peace with Him should guide our decision making and govern our responses. Within the context of this section of Colossians we see this worked out in our compassion, gentleness, kindness, humility, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and love within the body of Christ. We have peace with God and one another as we practice these Christian graces mentioned here; and it should then be a part of our life so that, "As far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." (Romans 12:18).

So, first, be sure that you are at peace with God through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God for establishing peace with you, His enemy, and reconciling you to Himself through the blood of the cross. Now live a life of peace with God through how you live your life with others in the body, and in the world; but not at the expense of righteousness or the truth.

The Root Cause of Racism

Due to the events in Ferguson, Missouri, there has been much discussion in the blogosphere over the last several weeks over the subject of racism.  Some good, some not so good. Racism has been a particularly thorny issue since Genesis 11:6-9, when the Lord confused the languages and scattered man over the face of the whole earth.  From then on you see incidences of racism throughout the Bible.  

But when you look at the world picture from an historical perspective, it is more than racism, the color of ones skin, it actually goes much deeper to ethnicity or tribalism.  In recent history look at the ethnic cleansing that took place in Bosnia with the Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians, which also included some Albanians.  Look also at the issues with the Tutsis and the Hutus in Rwanda and the genocide there. In studying Native American history you can see the same animus among the different tribes toward one another.  So as we consider the issue of racism we must think of  it as a facet of ethnicity.  

The root cause of racism is the failure to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Interestingly,  Leviticus 19:18 gives us the first mention of loving your neighbor as yourself, and it is in the context of not taking vengeance or not bearing any grudge. Racism begins with a lack of love and therefore bears a grudge, carries a black mark in the heart, toward anyone who is a different ethnicity than you simply because they are of a different ethnicity; or, in many cases, are of a specific ethnicity. Racism is lack of love which does not believe all things, hope all things, bear all things, endure all things, and therefore assumes that someone did something to someone else simply because of ethnicity; it therefore mistrusts because someone is of a different ethnicity; it therefore leaps to conclusions; it therefore refuses to give the benefit of the doubt; it therefore refuses to hear the truth; it therefore refuses to treat others as it would be treated. 

Therefore, racism is sin. It is the sin of a heart that has been hardened toward those of other ethnicities, and is a sin that continues to harden the heart. The knife of racism cuts in all directions, and there is not one ethnic group that is immune to this sin, for sin is in the heart of all men. 

Where can we as Christians begin to deal with this issue of racism? How can we bring healing to this thorny and emotionally charged topic?  We must start by loving one another as ourselves, and for those of a different ethnicity who happen to be our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must love them as Christ has loved us.  We cannot hope or expect those who do not have the Spirit of Christ within to reciprocate this love, for they cannot; but the church can and should provide this witness and example.  For all things societal, the root issue is always a moral issue, and the moral issues always have a spiritual foundation.  

On this issue, the church, comprised of individual Christians, should be salt and light to the broader culture.  We should be the salt that stops the corruption of racism in its tracks, and the light of love for those of other ethnicities that shines in the midst of the darkness of racism.  Fellow brothers and sisters, let us love like this each day. 

Creative Preaching?

I had several thoughts converge when I saw this ad, and none were complimentary. However, I do think this ad captures the essence of what is misdirected, ill advised, bad, and just plain wrong with what is coming out of so many pulpits across our land today. There is indeed a pressure from the masses, a II Timothy 4:3-4 type of pressure, for the pastor to be fresh, creative, original, and entertaining with his messages, or else the crowd is off to the one who will meet their demands; and what is also implied in the II Timothy passage is that there will always be pastors who are eager to give the masses what they want.

This pressure from the masses is in conflict with the charge to the preacher in II Timothy 4:1-2 to preach the word in season and out, rebuking, reproving, correcting, and instructing.  Somehow, you can't entertain and rebuke simultaneously; creativity and correction just don't go together; and instruction in godliness doesn't meet felt needs...especially the modern crowd's need to feel better about their bad self.

There is always a temptation for the pastor to play to the crowd, which involves ignoring what they need in order to give them what they want.  Advertisements like the one above certainly aid in the succumbing of the pastor to that temptation.  You will also notice that they want to help you be creative and fresh, for a price. Brothers, let's call that what it is. That is not ministry, that is merchandising.  

In II Corinthians Paul defends his preaching to the Corinthians against the charge that he was personally unimpressive, unskilled in speaking (not eloquent in the manner of the day), and he had nothing to say that was worth listening to. (It makes me wonder if Paul had the church at Corinth in mind when he penned those verses in II Timothy.)  If you read through both epistles to the Corinthians you will discover that in Paul's preaching to them, he gave them what they really needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear.  He was determined to know nothing among them but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, He brought them the gospel, He laid out Jesus Christ as the foundation of their faith, His message and preaching were not of eloquent persuasion but demonstrated the power of the Spirit, He preached God's wisdom instead of man's, and lived out before them what he preached to them.  He never worried or fretted about being fresh or creative, but in preaching Christ to them he gave them the full counsel of God.

Brother pastors, let us not fall prey to the siren call of the shallow silliness of the day, let us not succumb to the temptation to be fresh and original, let us not be led astray by the enticement of slick advertisements that play on our insecurities; but let us remain faithful to our charge to handle the word rightly, let us preach it faithfully, let us preach it boldly and unapologetically, and let us preach it in the power of the Spirit so that we will have no regrets when our work is tested by fire in that last day, and we will  receive our full reward.

His Goodness and Ours

Psalm 119:39b...Your ordinances are good.
Psalm 119:68 You are good and do good, teach me your statutes.

Why would the Psalmist ask the Lord to teach him His statutes?  So that he may be good and do good just like his heavenly Father (Matthew 5:48), as it is from His statutes that he learns what is truly good.

Father, this day, this week, this month, fulfill our every desire for goodness, and attend our works of faith with Your power so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in You and You in Him.  Amen. (II Thessalonians 1:11-12)

Sunday and the Word of God

The Word of God is meant to be a blessing

to the people of God.  So, this Sunday, sing it,

read it, preach it, and pray it.

Forgiveness for the Sake of His Name

Our sins have been forgiven for the sake of His name (I Jn 2:12). We must therefore forgive others for the sake of His name (Mt 5:43-45).

The Greatest Message

and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be

proclaimed in His name to all the nations...

Luke 24:47

The most exciting, the most glorious, the most gracious,

the most wonderful message in the world, is that God

forgives sin. And He has provided forgiveness for sin

 for all who call out to Him, by not counting our sins  

against us (II Corinthians 5:19), but by counting

 them against Christ. 

(II Corinthians 5:21, I Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:8)

So today, right now, seek Him while He may be

found, call upon Him while He is near, for He

is gracious, ready to forgive, and will 

abundantly pardon.

And for those of us who have been abundantly

pardoned, let us abundantly rejoice!

Measuring Your Ministry

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me,

because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.

I Timothy 1:12

(italics mine)

As pastors, our desire should be to be faithful, not successful!  Too much, pardon me...way too much... emphasis is put on a pastor being successful.  Pastors grade themselves, and are graded by others, on the success of their ministry, instead of the faithfulness of their ministry.  There are conferences, seminars, magazines (Leadership), blogs, articles, and websites that are devoted to the pastor's success. There are secular standards of measure that are used such as numbers, growth, baptisms, budget, missions involvement, influence, twitter followers, website or blog hits, and the like.  And, yes, the more 'spiritual' will talk about how true success in ministry is measured in spiritual terms, or how you can't measure success because it is spiritual; but the problem is that the emphasis is still on being successful.

I cannot find one scripture in the entire Bible that refers to a pastor being successful.  In fact, the Bible never stresses the success of the pastor, but stresses the faithfulness of the pastor.  For example see I Timothy 1:12 above and listen to I Corinthians 4:1-2 "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  In this case moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found (pistos) faithful/trustworthy.  

This is why we never find any Scriptures where the Lord is measuring our success, but we see where He is always measuring our faithfulness, our trustworthiness.  For example:
Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing will be unrighteous in much. For us as pastors we see this principle in Luke played out in Matthew.

Matthew 24:45-46 "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?  Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes."  And we see this illustrated vividly for us in a parable of the kingdom, Christ's kingdom, in Matthew 25:14-30. In this parable we see the Master leaving and entrusting his possessions to his slaves, and in verses 21 and 23 we see His commendation upon His return, "His master said to him, "Well done good and faithful slave, You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master." Christ has left this earth for a while, and has given us pastors charge over His possessions (His people, see I Peter 2:9, Titus 2:14). His concern, as so wonderfully illustrated in the Scriptures above, is for us to be faithful with what Has given us, and He has not entrusted everyone with the same amount.

You see, when you try to measure success, the only true way to measure is if everyone is given the exact same ministry, the exact same gifting, the exact same set of circumstances, and so on.  But the Lord has not seen fit for it to work in that way.  In addition to the verses listed above in Matthew consider this in Romans 12:3-6 "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.  For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly; if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith." So there is no standard by which we can all be measured, except our faithfulness.  So as we have seen in Matthew (and also in Luke 19) when the Lord measures "success," He measures it by faithfulness.

What we are concerned about in our ministry will be what we emphasize in our ministry. When our concern is our success, then success, in whatever way we measure it, will be the emphasis; and if success in ministry is our goal, then our ministry automatically becomes about us and our goal(s) and not about the Lord and the accomplishment of His purpose(s).  

As indicated above, the Lord is using us (talking to pastors in particular here), to accomplish His purpose(s). We are the tools, the means, the vessels that He has chosen to use, but it is Him that is accomplishing His purpose(s) through us.  When we put the emphasis on our success, it then becomes us achieving our goals with the Lord's "help."  When the emphasis is on our success, the Lord becomes our means in accomplishing our goals instead of us being the means of the accomplishment of His eternal purpose; and, in effect, the Lord becomes our servant and we cease to be His; and thus, the glory is no longer the Lord's but ours. This is very subtle, but it is rampant in the ministry here in the states, as we have corrupted the ministry with the American success syndrome. In considering this, let us look at a few Scriptures that can give us the right perspective on this:

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keep awake in vain.

II Corinthians 3:4-6 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit...

I Corinthians 12:4...the Spirit gives the gifts

I Corinthians 12:5...the Lord gives the ministries

I Corinthians 12:6...our God causes the effects

II Timothy 2:21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor; sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared (made fit) for every good work.

II Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.

How these verses work together in a gospel ministry is illustrated in these mysteries:

Mark 4:26-28 And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know. The soil produces the crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

I Corinthians 15:10 By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove in vain (because Paul was faithful), but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God with me.

Brother pastors and fellow Christian workers.  Let us no longer be slaves to the secular success syndrome that has crept into the church and try to measure our ministries by artificial and arbitrary standards. Let our concern not be for our success, but for our faithfulness; and therefore let us seek to be faithful in the task, the great and noble task, of expanding the kingdom which was begun in Christ and will be culminated in Christ when He returns and rules.  Let our success be found in our faithfulness to the Lord and to the ministry to which He has called us and has equipped us and gifted us to perform; and let us keep our hands firmly on the plow as we follow His path and pray for His will to be done and not our own.

God's Perpetual Care

There was a popular song a few years back by Third Day, the foundation of which was Psalm 36:5-6.  I wish whoever had written the lyrics had gone ahead written about the rest of that section so that we could see more of the beauty and perpetuity of God's care for us.  The following are the verses 5-9 of Psalm 36, with the heading of each verse giving us an area of God's care that is highlighted in that verse.

In God we have:

Safety
35:5 Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Stability
36:6a Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Your judgments are like a great deep.

Security
36:6b O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

Shelter
36:7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

Spiritual Satisfaction
36:8 They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.

Spiritual Sustenance 
36:9a For with You is the fountain of life;

Spiritual Sight
36:9a In Your light we see light.

And Father, we pause now, and give You thanks for Your wonderful and marvelous provision.  We thank you that You are able to do abundantly more than we ask or think, and that You do just that in the lives of Your children.  Thank you for our daily bread, the cleansing from sin, and the availability of Your ear.  Bless Your name now and forever.  Amen.

Persuasive Preaching or Powerful Preaching?

The word persuade is defined as causing someone to do or believe something. There are many who believe that preaching must be persuasive, and to a degree it must be. However, there is a fine line between persuasion and manipulation.  There is much preaching that goes on that is nothing but rank manipulation, and I am not talking about only the religious hucksters, the religious profiteers, and the televangelists, for they are the most obvious ones; but I am also referring here to the regular pastor/preacher types.

There is tendency, indeed a temptation, that for a sermon to be successful it must elicit some type of visceral response, cause some type of emotional reaction, or cause the congregants to tell the pastor how good the sermon was or how moved they were.  There is also the temptation to "move" the congregation to get behind a particular issue or event or project that is important to the pastor.

Honestly, the need to have these kind of responses reveal a great deal about the pastor...his ego and his insecurity.  To be frank, all of us who preach want to know if our sermons are hitting the mark, if they are effective, if they are doing anyone any good; but a preoccupation with the effect of the sermon or the response to the sermon, can cause the pastor to incorporate manipulation into his sermon (its production and presentation) so as to get the response he desires.  There is also the desire to come alongside certain issues or projects that particularly appeal to us that fits in here as well.

So, should sermons be persuasive?  Of course, they should!  But they should be spiritually persuasive because they are spiritually powerful.  A spiritually powerful sermon is always persuasive, but in order to be spiritually powerful, they must be based on Scripture, kept in context, accurately handled, and, might I add, soaked in Scripture.

The Lord tells us in Jeremiah 1:12 that He stands over His word to perform it. In Isaiah 55:11 the Lord states that His word will not return to Him empty without accomplishing His desire for it.  In I Thessalonians 2:13 He tells us that His word performs its work in those who believe.  In I Peter 2:2 we learn that it is His word that causes us to grow in respect to our salvation. Notice that it is His word He stands over, not the preacher's; it is His word that does not return empty, not the preacher's; it is His word that performs its work in the heart of the believer, not the preacher's; and it is His word that causes spiritual growth, not the preacher's. So for us to be spiritually persuasive, and, therefore spiritually effective, we must use more of His word and less of our own.  It is only sermons that are spiritually persuasive that have a lasting effect.

As preachers we preach to the heart through the mind in order to bend the will.  The will once bent will remain that way, but the bending of the will comes incrementally, much like watching a blacksmith forge an iron tool as he gradually conforms it to the shape he desires.  True change that is the result of true persuasion, is change that is permanent in nature.  Only the word of God attended by the Spirit of God can effect such a lasting change.

So if you want your sermons to be truly persuasive, then base them on the word of God, having accurately handled it to get its message (not your own) out of the text. And, be patient, trusting the Lord and His word to do what only they can do.

Trials-Faith Tested, Faith Proven

When I was young boy, one of my favorite books was The Red Badge of Courage. This was a novel set in the Civil War about a teenager who went to war as a drummer. He often wondered if he had real courage, courage enough not to run in the thick of the battle. Sure enough he would find out. In the heat of a fierce battle he sustained a head wound. His head was bandaged, and the bandage was soon soaked with his blood. Wounded and hurting, he grabbed the flag from a fallen comrade and led the charge. The red bloody bandage became the red badge of his courage for all to see. A great story, one that still gives me a thrill to think about.

Faith untested is faith unproven. So have you ever wondered about the proof of your faith? Have you ever wondered what you would have to show the Lord to prove the reality of your faith when you stand before Him on that final day? You can't hold faith, you can't touch and feel faith, you can't see faith itself, faith is not a physically tangible object. So how do you know it is real? Well, God in His goodness to us has provided us for a way to know our faith is real, to stand before him with something tangible in our hand, to have that definitive proof of the reality of our faith. We see this in I Peter 1:6-7, "In this you greatly rejoice, even though for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 

Think about it! Your enduring trials, your being faithful to God when under duress, your being wounded in some way as you remain godly in your circumstances, your paying a price because of your love for the Savior become the red badge of your faith. Just as the young boy in the story could look at that bloody bandage and rejoice because his courage had been proven, so we too can look at the trials that have proved our faith and rejoice in the knowledge that our faith has stood the test, and that we will stand before the Lord when He comes with tangible evidence of our faith in Him and love for Him. Yes, we will quote the Psalm that God is good and does good, but have you ever considered the goodness of the Lord in using trials to give us not only the confidence that our faith is real and has substance to it; but also that He is good by giving us trials to hold in our hand that prove our faith, on that great day when we appear before Him?

In Genesis 22:12 God has this to say to Abraham after He stopped Abraham from plunging the knife into the breast of the son, who was not only the son of promise, but the son in whom all the promises of God were to be fulfilled, "...for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Yes, Peter was correct, the proof of our faith is truly more precious than gold.  Gold perishes, but the proof of our faith does not, and we will always wear its red badge, not only before men, but more importantly, before God.

Lord, we want to close in thanking You for using trials in this way. Thank You for the proof of our faith that trials give us, and for the confidence that our faith is real that trials give us. May each one who is reading this post have that red badge of faith, so we will not shrink back from You at Your coming. Amen.

 

Preparing Ourselves for Sunday

As we prepare for Sunday, let us remember

that what we do is important, not because we

are doing it, or because it is our ministry.

It is not important because of the size, or

lack thereof, but it is important because

 it is His work He has called us to do.

Keeping that in mind is part of 

preparing ourselves for Sunday.

The Peace of Christ and Us

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not

let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

John 14:27

However, this peace, the peace of Christ, is not a peace at the expense of righteousness, or peace at the expense of the truth. It does not compromise righteousness or truth, but instead it is a peace at the expense of the self, at the expense of personal "rights", at the expense of personal desires, at the expense of personal comfort. It is a peace at the expense of personal ambitions, personal glory, at the expense of personal achievements, or personal recognition. It is peace because we have given up ourselves, and is part of taking up our cross daily and following after (living in like manner) Him, who gave Himself up for us.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for

 they shall be called sons of God.

Matthew 5:9

Children in the Worship Service

Some good thoughts here.

http://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2001/a-child-was-bored-in-the-service/