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re-generated · 9 years ago

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Contributor: Brice Johnson Posted on: 08/19/2016 “Sabbath” is a word we don’t use much anymore, and brings a lot of confusion. Growing up, I thought it was a fancy word the Bible used for Sunday church service, or maybe a practice we didn’t have to worry about. But through the Sabbath, God is actually telling us something about his character and who we are as his people.

The Sabbath is woven into creation. The Lord worked and created for six days, and on the seventh day he rested to enjoy what he had made. The all-sovereign, powerful God who neither slumbers nor sleeps wasn’t tired or weary, but was creating a rhythm of work and rest for humans, created in his image, to reflect. Before sin and the fall, God patterned for us a model of how to live well: work hard six days of the week and devote one day specifically to worship and rest in him.

Resting, and specifically, sabbath resting, is so important to God that he included it in the Ten Commandments after he saved his people from slavery in Egypt. By his power and might, God rescued the Israelites from a cruel master who overworked them mercilessly for 400 years (Exodus 1:11-14, 5:7-9). In freeing his people and giving the commandments, God showed them what kind of master he is and who they are as a rescued people. In the fourth commandment, he reveals that he is a master who doesn’t work them to death, but invites his people to rest from their toil and enjoy him.

For some of us, this is hard to hear. In a world that is consumed with productivity and doing, it is too easy to find our worth in our work and what we do. It becomes our idol, what we define ourselves by, where we find meaning. We look to work to find the things only God can give us: significance, security, and identity. Work, like Egypt, can be a cruel taskmaster that demands more and more, never satisfied with your production, enslaving you to demands of greater output.

For others, it’s not difficult to argue for the need to rest. The problem is that because of sin, we run to other things to give us rest. We believe the lie that ultimately more sleep, a Netflix binge, or the beach will give us the rest we so deeply crave. And although those aren’t necessarily bad things, they cannot provide the life-giving, renewing rest that we actually need. Rest becomes an elusive idol to chase, never giving a return on its promises, never satisfying.

So what does God say about the Sabbath?

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work,” (Exodus 20:8-10)

The Egyptian deities needed larger monuments and more labor from people in order to get glory, but God does not; he created everything and everything is his. So when God tells his people to not work one day out of the week, and to devote that day to him by resting, it’s because his survival and glory are not dependent on what you or I could produce for him. In fact, we are dependent on him! In the Sabbath, God is teaching us to trust in him and his provision, not our productivity. Even if we could get more tasks done, send another email, or make more money by working an extra day, the Sabbath reminds us that we ultimately trust God to provide and take care of us, and not ourselves.

So what does this look like practically? “The seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” (Exodus 20:10a) The Sabbath is to the Lord, meaning that it is primarily and foremost to worship the Lord. Of course, we do this every day, but on the Sabbath we’re able to pause and really focus on worshiping and enjoying him. The primary way we do this is by reading the Bible and in prayer. How could we worship God apart from his word? It is in his word that God addresses our sin, reminds us of who he is, and comforts us with the gospel. It is in his word that God speaks. It is God’s word that gives life and heals and addresses the needs that merely sleep or TV will never meet. And it is in prayer that we respond back, clinging to his promises and to his character that we find in the scriptures.

“For Sabbath rest to truly be restorative and refreshing, God’s word and prayer must be a part of it.”

We can also worship God by enjoying the good gifts he has given us. One of the ways I’ve incorporated this into my own Sabbath is by doing things that “fill” me as opposed to things that “drain” me. I’ve realized that bingeing on a TV show doesn’t fill my tank or give me rest, and I’m often left even more weary. On the other hand, reading, spending time outdoors, and being with friends are things I enjoy and rejuvenate me, so I incorporate these rhythms into my day of rest. Sabbath rest isn’t about checking out and unplugging your mind, but it is a gift from God to refresh ourselves physically and mentally, in addition to refreshing us spiritually.

The Sabbath serves another purpose too. It points us to the rest that God provides through Jesus, where we rely on the work of another to secure our rest, a rest that is eternal (Heb 4:9-11). It is a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ, where he fully obeyed the law and honored God perfectly every day, and in his death and resurrection, has freed us from slavery to sin and brought us into the family of God.

”Sabbath rest isn’t about checking out and unplugging your mind, but it is a gift from God to refresh ourselves physically and mentally, in addition to refreshing us spiritually.”

In practicing Sabbath, we display and proclaim the gospel. We show that God is a faithful provider, he is gracious and kind, and he is the source of life and rest. We declare that God has worked on our behalf and secured an eternal rest for us. In ignoring it, we declare that we don’t really believe that God is our provider, we don’t really believe that he gives us true rest, and we don’t really believe that Christ’s work was enough. By ignoring the weekly Sabbath, we display and proclaim a false gospel.

Let us be a people who walk in obedience and proclaim the true gospel.

*This is the second part of a series to continue the conversation about Sabbath. Here's a link to the first part titled, Gospel-Centered View on Rest.

Brice Johnson lives in Austin, TX where he works at the Austin Stone Community Church. An avid Longhorn, he enjoys music, writing, and spending time outdoors. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @bricej87. Follow his blog at www.briceajohnson.com

#sabbath #rest #gospel #work

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A Gospel-Centered View on Rest.

As long as I can remember, going to church on Sundays was the Christian thing to do. If you missed a church service, it was looked down on. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever missed a Sunday service until I was in my third year of college. You might think high of my commitment but that’s how deep legalism ran in my blood. There was always some sort of guilt that I felt if I had ever missed a Sunday service. It was not until my college years that I started to slowly move away from that legalistic type of thinking.

I started asking myself some key questions. What is the big deal? What does the Sabbath mean? Is the Sabbath on a Saturday or a Sunday? We tend to take more seriously the commandments such as: “Do not murder” or “Do not commit adultery”. But God also commands us to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” This was based on how God spent six days creating, but on the seventh day He rested. What did it mean to keep the Sabbath holy? It was a day set apart for not doing any work but to rest and worship God. The intent of this law was to create space in the lives of God’s people to worship God because all the other days would not let them do this. Their hearts did not desire it. Their inclinations and will had no bent towards worship. The only way to persuade an evil heart to worship God (for their own good) was to put this law in front of them to remind their hearts to focus in and worship their Creator.

The disciple Matthew in his gospel account said that Jesus encountered a man who had a withered hand. The man didn’t even ask for healing but it’s as if the Pharisees staged this man right in front of Jesus as a dare to heal him on the Sabbath day. They were testing Him because just before this, Jesus had called Himself, “Lord of the sabbath”. The disciples had just got accused for plucking the head of a grain on Sabbath. They did not like that. Jesus responds to their trite judgmental question by saying, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” The Pharisees had enough of all this and the rest is history but what we find here is the revolution of what rest and the Sabbath looks like.

Jesus, who was “in the beginning with God”, wrote the law and gave it for men, aimed at some sort of a reconciliation towards God. But when the disciples got accused, Jesus rolled his eyes. In a paraphrase, He was saying, “Why bring up a law, to ‘not work while worshiping God’ when I, the Creator of the law, is right in front of them. I delight in my children. They know who I am. They know that I am holy. They are doing the work of my will and if I don’t care that they plucked the head of the grain, you shouldn’t either. I am more important than the written law.” The law was intended to serve man and to point to God. Isn’t it silly to think that an external paper does a better job of pointing to God than God Himself? The Pharisees were so stuck on the paper that they forgot the Person conversing with them was the fulfillment of that paper.

Things only progressed forward from here. After the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, Jesus had secured the heart and soul of those of us who would believe. As the Spirit of God is sent to be in us permanently, we have the actual presence of Jesus Christ with us at all times…forever! We don’t need the law, a paper, to tell us that we need to rest or worship God. We look inwardly as the Spirit intercedes on our behalf to desire God more than any other rest in this world. Paul calls this the “law of the Spirit of life.”

When God looks at us now, He looks at His perfect Son, who kept all the laws. In the past, it was necessary for the Jews to follow each of the laws to sustain their salvation but we, in Christ, follow the laws for completely different reasons. We follow them because it is now as natural as breathing. This is why the author of Hebrews says, “…since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” That “better” is Christ in us, the hope of glory! Any good that comes from us is because of Jesus. Any good that we are going to do is because His Spirit enables us.

JUSTIFICATION/SANCTIFICATION

And so it’s simple really. In the New Covenant, our main focus is not necessarily in following the commandments mentioned in Exodus 20. There are only few places where you see the word “commandments” in the New Testament. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul”, “Love your neighbor as yourself”, and “Go, therefore and make disciples… teaching all I’ve commanded”. Any commandments we obey now is different than that before. Previously, we were required to keep the law to stand justified before God. But we already know we failed at that. This time, since Jesus has already kept the law, the regenerate believer does nothing except believe in Jesus’s work on the cross and resurrection. When we respond to the Gospel, Jesus “works in us to will and to act” for his good purpose. Again, this is strictly in terms of justification in Christ. (Justification is when God removes all our guilt and shame and at the same time declares us righteous, all because of what Jesus did on the cross. God changes His demeanor towards us in that he looks at us with favor. In front of God, our status changes from ‘sinner’ to ‘righteous’. We stand before God – unashamed - not on our merit but on Christ’s merit.)

From the moment you believe in Jesus, you will naturally commit to obeying His commands because the ‘law of the Spirit of life’ is at work. His Spirit now empowers you to obey. Don’t be fooled. As a Christian, if you feel the need to obey God by not lying, not murdering, not looking lustfully at women, and keeping the Sabbath holy, it is not because you’re doing the work by yourself. Your old self is dead. It is the law of Spirit of life working in you that empowers your heart, body, mind, and soul to obey your new Master. This is part of sanctification. Just like Jesus raised the standard of murder by equating it with being angry and how he said that looking at a woman lustfully is the same as having an adulterous heart, he raises the standard concerning the Sabbath in the same manner. Now that He is in us, our heart must be kept constantly holy by worshiping and resting in Him alone, while not neglecting to doing good every day.

WHAT I’M NOT SAYING

Please don’t misunderstand me about the Sabbath. I am not saying none of us should go to church on Sundays. If anything, the New Covenant insists that if we can do ‘Sunday service’ (and all that it means) on an everyday basis, then we should. The author of Hebrews says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” We also see throughout the Book of Acts, how believers came together as much as they could. This is the evidence of what the Spirit wants to do in us because we need unity and community. It’s what we were designed for. The Spirit of God wants to make much of Jesus and glorify the Father. If coming together glorifies God, then the Spirit of God will draw us to those things. The coming together is also a way of Jesus reminding us that in the midst of our busy schedules, trials, and struggles, there’s a redeemed people called ‘The Church’, that functions as the body of Christ. When we come together, we all get to see the hands and feet of Christ at work. This is for His glory and so that our joy maybe made complete.

BACK TO THE POINT

With that being said, don’t forsake doing good for the sake of legalism. Jesus was on mission and calls us to be on mission by showing mercy, compassion, and hospitality with the message of the gospel. Don’t be restrained by the external law, but be free to do God’s will, knowing confidently that ‘Christ in us’ is constantly enabling us to obey Him in all His commandments. Jesus kept every single day holy, while also still doing good works! This is the Sabbath in the New Covenant. It’s not Sunday service. It’s inside of us. The practical implications are simple. In Christ, the intent and purpose of Sabbath are not tied down to a certain day like Saturday or Sunday. While we’re at work Monday through Friday, while we are at the gym, while we’re at home, we are called to be holy and do good. No place or circumstance is hidden from the Lord. That’s why it’s important to assess ourselves if we are Christians? Just because we go to church on Sundays doesn’t prove much. Are we consistently in the Word and being prayerful? Or do we wait till Sunday? Are we in community? Are we always considering how we can be missional in everything we do? Are we engaging unbelievers outside of church events? Is there a distinction in how we talk and act at home as opposed to how we are at church service? The standards are higher now and it requires even more but don’t be discouraged. By His Spirit, through our identity in Christ, we can now meet these new horizons. This is what Jesus meant in Mark 10 when He said, “With man it is impossible…For with God all things are possible”.

I know all this feels overwhelming but we need to believe God will give us rest when we are weak. Tim Keller says, “Christ is not about trying harder; it means transferring our trust away from ourselves and resting in him.” He is the source of good and the source of rest. But this world lies to us about rest and says otherwise. We can go for a vacation and come back, only to be still tired before going back to work. We can get a massage at a spa, only to feel all that tension return by the end of the week. We can unwind and sink into our couches to watch T.V. thinking it’ll relax us, only to feel slothful and unproductive after. None of these things are evil. I am so grateful for the common grace of God to enjoy vacations, spas, and Netflix. But it will never give us the true rest or joy that we long for! I find a rhythm and not a coincidence that right before He talked about the Sabbath, Jesus said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This is why Jesus tells us not to be weary but beckons us to come to Him daily for Sabbath rest. This rest is gospel-centered! Here we find joy and it glorifies God! All other “rest” falls dim.

#rest #sabbath #lawofspiritoflife #law #justification #sanctification #goodworks #holy #missional #sundays

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#blacklivesmatter and the impact the Christian can make during this time.

The last few days have been trying for us as a nation. And yet, in the last three days, I’ve seen more divisive posts and comments than humble ones. Even the ones that seem like they’re sympathizing are thoughtless. It seems to be everywhere you look. Someone from the black community posts about their fears and then individuals mostly from the white community comments without any compassion. Unless it is to genuinely mourn, sympathize, or pray, it is best not to post anything because we end up adding our bits to it that take away from the pain and mourning that is going on. Your posts, unless it is to mourn, pray, or sympathize, is not going to change lives, or transform people’s minds, or miraculously melt hard hearts. Only Jesus can do all that. Some seem to already know the answers, like how Bildad and Zophar was towards Job. Some of us who claim to be Christians go into other posts’ comment sections and defend a certain side in ways that Christ would not. That should immediately indicate what you are doing is not right no matter what the truth is. If you can’t have restraint and not handle yourself with grace, your defense and resolution are going to be useless. They are cheap. And ultimately selfish. Your comments are not going to do jack! This is more for those who feel the need to comment against an African American or any other race who experience fear and anger towards white individuals. So if you want to post something, especially in the current sensitive matters, be humble. Pray. Mourn. Show the love of Christ.�� This same love compelled us to no longer be ruled by the brokenness and anger around us because we realized that Jesus was the sole source of any good and peace. If you disagree with someone, just for now, practice self-control. You know…that fruit that testifies that we are God’s children? (Gal. 5:22,23; 1 John 3:9) Yea that one. If you have a hard time just saying #blacklivesmatter, restrain yourselves and don’t have to hashtag anything at all. Don’t resort to #alllivesmatter…you’re causing division. Anytime you have an impulse in such a moment as this to say “well he said she said…they did this…he did that…what about #bluelivesmatter”, just be self-controlled. You can be better in that moment of you wanting to slash back.

It reminds me of an unhealthy marriage when one spouse just has to put their two cents in and their defense of why they’re right repeatedly. Those of us who’ve endured a few years in marriage know, that when both of you are in the most heated moments, it doesn’t matter who is right. Someone has to give up their pride. Since I’m a Complementarian, it should be the husband who becomes sacrificial and show the love of Christ in that moment. Egalitarians, one of you will have to. (Unless it was a sin issue) That’s very similar to this. Christians, when you open your mouth and in this case – when you post anything - we are called to clothe ourselves in humility, show grace, and be self-controlled. If someone you know posts something that expresses their fear and anger, don’t try to be the bearer of all truth. It is better not to defend anything in that moment. If a public figure is posting about how they feel fear, respect their present feeling and pray. You are not going to change anything with your opinion.

With all that being said, I don’t think that in you being sacrificial, you also have to give up your own opinions and convictions? You are also an image bearer of God. You are created by God in this particular time period and this current season, to be part of this moment in 2016. Each of you are uniquely wired to be the person that you are. There is a time and will be a time where you can voice those opinions; And in those times, I guarantee, you will make much more of a difference than in this current moment on social media.

Let’s talk Impact. What kind of impact can you make if you’re not a victim of #blacklivesmatter. Even if you are a victim, I believe these are helpful.

1. Believe and do what is mentioned above concerning restraint and humility.

2. Be part of a community, especially if you are a believer in Jesus Christ.

If these times are not an indication, that we need to be part of a community, then I don’t know what is. Many of us Christians posting online and battling online must ask ourselves the question of community. If you really care and want to be effective, you must ask yourself, “In posting this am I running solo? Making a theological case or blogging about Scriptures is another matter. A lot of those times, you are only saying something that’s already been said or already been battled-tested. However, in these current social issues, there is clearly so much that is still not fully resolved. There are people on so many similar spectrums of life but strongly differ with each other on this matter. Both sides can throw bible verses and it would not be the end of it. Both sides can take sides that either party thought the other wouldn’t. There is so much anger for those of different race, especially those who are African-Americans. So much confusion. There is so much passivity among the Anglos within the Church, workplace, etc. So much blindness. A ginormous lack of self-control. Depending on which church you go to, this is an issue where one cannot biblically side with one or the other. They can’t church discipline one party over the other and neither is it necessary to do so. This is a social injustice issue that has affected everyone. In such cases, again, it is best to be prudent with what you post. More importantly, it is even more helpful if you were part of a local church and its communities where you can be known and understood. As a community, these conversations can be hashed out and eventually lead to practical ways of being impactful. This leads to the next point…

3. Dialogue.

When you are part of a local church or community, you can start having meaningful conversations about this matter. These are avenues for you to be vulnerable and to voice what you are feeling. It’s a place for you to be loved deeply in your opinions. For your good, this will also be a place where you will be accountable for what you say. Remember what you say is not always right. It is better to be corrected by your family in Christ in a local context than for you to look like an idiot in a public forum online. And if your local church or community tells you to rethink your thinking, you need to be humble and pray to listen. That’s how you combat this spiritual warfare, which is fueling the issues behind these social issues. As a Christian, I believe going through this filter will help you repent and buffer any wrongful view you may have. It’ll enhance and help focus your lenses on how to join in this fight for #blacklivesmatter. I think it is also important to add here that our efforts for peace and unity are temporary and limited. There are men and women in history who have done great things in the name of peace such as Martin Luther King and I’d be foolish to say that we haven’t benefited from them. However, so much of what is being said out there, and very angrily I must say, are solutions that are not gospel-exclusive. Let me be clear. There is no real peace and no unity outside of the gospel. In our dialogues inside and outside the church, this is an opportunity to speak the gospel into the hearts of unbelievers who have a gaping hole infested by fear and anger. They have no grid for lasting peace. There is nothing on the horizon of their views that give them any hope for real change. We, who have been rescued from this gaping hole, know there is hope, “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” (Heb.6:19)

4. Be part of the social movements (Christian or non-Christian) locally that help the cause of unity.

Now you can dialogue outside of your local community. You can talk to your friends at work. You can be part of causes in the nation or state. The sharpening of the community on your life will only better direct your genuine intention to bring about peace and unity to both parties. Be part of peaceful protests. Be as loud or vocal about these issues. Be part of panels on social issues. Be involved in city halls where you can be part of the discussions and confidently voice helpful strategies to bring unity on this matter.

5. PRAY!

This might be my last point but it’s not my last resort. If I could, I would attach “pray” to every point that I made. It is the most important and pivotal thing you can do as a Christian. Set some time apart by yourself or with your family and pray to the Lord knowing that we have a full hearing in Jesus Christ. Our church held an hour of prayer today for those who just wanted to pray, mourn, and seek the Lord’s intervention in all that is going on around us. I love that. These are all opportunities for us to go to our “Abba Father” and for us to simply submit ourselves to the mercy of God. Let the Spirit of God intercede where we are without words. I found myself being in the corner of the room at church, with no words but tears. In that moment the Holy Spirit interceded and prayed for me in my helplessness to the situation I was praying for. (Romans 8:26,27) I would like to tell you that I found a solution but I didn’t. But I was reminded that the we are not alone in this. That the One who holds all answers is on our side. His sovereignty in all things is still a surety. He holds all things together, especially to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. So let’s pray boldly for the Lord to do amazing things. Thabiti M. Anyabwile says it this way, “Prayer is not pleading a cause before an unwilling God…In prayer, as children united with Christ, our advocate and high priest, the heir of all things, we stand before God receiving a full hearing.” Pray now!

To end off, let me encourage you again to pray and show restraint in social postings. If you’re running solo on this thing while posting on social media with no accountability, you’ll be disappointed. You’ll also be an accessory to someone else being sinful in their confusion-saturated conversations. You are not always right about everything. The moment someone says #blacklivesmatter, why do you feel that you have to battle that? #blacklivesmatter just happens to be a human and civil rights movement that has come to light more than ever within the last few years. When this movement achieves their goal, we will all be beneficiaries of it. I truly believe #blacklivesmatter is a movement of this current moment, that in essence, is also fighting for #alllivesmatter and even #bluelivesmatter. So let’s be united. Because if you think it’s all about #blacklivesmatter, you have been blinded. I have friends who are in the PD, and I can tell you, their vindication and justice in all this is also wrapped in the #blacklivesmatter movement. To be fair, if someone posts #bluelivesmatter after such an incident like what happened in Dallas, don’t feel the need to correct or reprimand that. Let us show restraint. Let’s be a people of prayer. Let’s be part of a local community. Let’s be part of social causes and have dialogues. These are all hard but practical ways to being impactful. I know this is very hard to do. Doing the right thing should never be anything less. Jesus was never wrong. He was always right. Just think about that for a bit. And yet this is how Paul describes the humility of Jesus, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” That’s what humility looks like. This is hard stuff. That’s why we need to pray because we all need grace to do the hard and right things. Don’t be so quick to talk these days. Pray. Mourn. Be self-controlled and filled with the Holy Spirit. Be the love of Christ in all things to all people, especially in your encounters with others online.

#blacklivesmatter #alllivesmatter #bluelivesmatter #gospel #impact #online #posts #social #media #facebook #twitter

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Role of a worship leader/pastor: The danger of leading without trusting.

What exactly do worship leaders do? Don’t we lead others into the presence of God? Don’t we have to come prepared with a motivational prayer or speech to get everyone to worship such as, “When two or three are gathered, God is here.” Where did we arrive at these misconceptions? Why do we say such cliché statements? What makes us say those things? Do we even think about what we are saying as “worship leaders”? We let an array of emotions have its way in directing us to say such silly things!

Words matter. Sure most Christians agree that Scriptures is the ultimate authority but the problem lies in the amount of focus we give it. Do we believe that the truths of God have purpose? Terminology must have integrity or everything will become relative. Jesus said something profound in Matthew 5:37, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” Jesus affirms that we let His word speak for itself, rather than it be modified. Even though Christ was talking about the issue of falsely swearing, He informs us that His standards are high concerning oaths. His word is(literally!) his “Yes” and “No” to us. (Heb.6:17) He doesn’t leave us hanging. He doesn’t come off as a deity that lacks confidence. When we lead the congregation, He says, “Hands-off. I got this!” He meets us in our inquisitive, broken, and contrite state, and declares: “…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)

Let’s clear the misconceptions. Worship leaders DO lead. However, there is no scriptural basis for worship leaders leading the congregation into the “presence of God”. The Holy Spirit is present with us at all times. He is there when we are at home, at work, in our conversations, on our social nights, and especially in our hearts.

Since Christ’s death on the cross, His resurrection, and the Holy Spirit’s permanent residence in the believer, God’s presence is with us at all times. Christ already entered into the Inner Courts and into the Holiest Place for us. (Heb. 10:19) Even when we feel Him the least, He is there. You may ask what’s wrong with praying, ‘When two or three are gathered in my name, God is here’? Let’s do the obvious first: When only ONE believer is in a room, is God NOT there? Having two or three people doesn’t make Jesus presence more legit! The real meaning behind that text (Matthew 18:15-20) has to do with church discipline and the validation of Christ’s witness in that process. That’s another whole matter in itself. Don’t just say stuff because it sounds “good”. Be informed. An informed Worship Leader is seasoned and fruitful in the long run. Let me be clear. I am not trying to be critical. I am trying to point out that these misinterpretations are a sign that we trust our emotions more than God’s revelation.

If you are a Worship Leader at your church, I would challenge you to ask yourself some questions.

1) Am I praying or stating anything publicly that is not mentioned in scriptures?

2) Am I theologically educating the church about the greatness of God, the attributes of God, and the Trinity through my song selections? If not, what am I educating them about?

3) As a worship pastor, am I informing the congregation of their sinful state and their need for mercy? If not, do I not think that’s necessary for their need to worship?

4) Do I point them to the cross to meet the needs above? How can I do this better?

5) Am I constantly declaring the power of Christ’s resurrection and its hope for the congregation?

6) Are the songs and prayers I express before the people of God, allowing space for them to press into the Holy Spirit to stir in us affections for Jesus?

To be frank, a lot of the misinterpretation is because Worship Leaders passively doubt the inerrancy of scriptures. This is a lack of trust issue! (or faith!) Could we be a generation of Christians who have no concept of what Paul meant when he said, “treasures in jars of clay.” (2 Corinthians 4) When we lay all our chips down, our emotional experiences outweigh God’s truths. We don’t trust that His Word is living and active. We don’t think it’s sufficient. We don’t believe His Word is powerful enough to do mighty things and so we think adding our own twist to His Word will give it “anointing” or “power.” We manipulate when we lead worship because we doubt that His revelation is enough for the congregation. We say the most cliché and silly things, tying it to a verse out of context, in hopes that it will get people to worship. That’s not real power. That’s counterfeit. It yields no real fruit and has no lasting effect on the health of the congregation. We are indirectly saying to the congregation that God’s Word is not enough to be the revelation they need so they could respond in worship. Don’t forget the Word was with God in the beginning. Don’t forget the Word spoke life into existence and everything in creation. Don’t forget the Word became flesh, conquered death, rose from the dead, and gave life to a rebellious people who hated Him. God uses His Word as the standard for His revelation. It is to this day, the best revelation, the most pure revelation, and the only revelation that will bring true worshipers to worship in Spirit and in Truth. This is not to say that there shouldn’t be word of wisdom or word of knowledge during leading but those gifts are most powerful when the leader discerns well. To discern well, you have to be rooted in the word. I pray that Worship Leaders will trust His Word to be enough. I pray they don’t just hope in their glimpses of God’s glory but what’s behind the glimpses. When they do this, they will lead well and do what their role is meant to do.

*This is part of a worship series on The Role of a Worship Leader/Pastor. Keep checking back with this blog as there will be more posts released by me and others. .’

Recommended Resources:

1. Eat this book by Eugene Peterson

2. Worship in Spirit and in Truth by John Frame

3. Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin

4. Facedown by Matt Redman

#worship #leader #whentwoorthreearegathered #leadingtothepresenceofGod #spiritandintruth #revelation

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re-generated · 9 years ago

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CONTENDING FOR THE LEGALIST’S JOY - NO MORE CHAINS

If you are a Christian, the last thing you want to admit about yourself is that you are a legalist. “No that’s not me.” And then you will look around and mutter, “What’s legalism?” You are not alone. This was me and sometimes it still could be me. However, taking some time to do introspection will help carve out any rubbish that needs to get out of our spiritual system. I’ve come up with ten broad questions that many, including myself, have wrestled with. I hope it is helpful in analyzing if you struggle with legalism.

1) Do you go to church to maintain your Christianity or do you put burdens on other Christians such that going to church is necessary for their salvation to be sure?

2) In a population of different ethnic believers in one room, do you avoid other ethnic groups and associate only with your own ethnic group because you believe your ethnic group has some greater worth, maybe through some external qualities?

3) Do you avoid habits such as alcohol, cussing, tattoos, or listening to secular music because you believe that it brings you to a better standing with the Lord? Do you look down on Christians who may do some of the above?

4) Do you put rules on other Christians around you in a way to control their standing with God?

5) Does being generous towards ministers or a church give you a sense of being right with God or being part of a higher status among the Body of Christ?

6) If you forgot to pray or read the Bible for a whole week, does that make you feel that you need to be right with the Lord? Do you compensate in spiritual habits to accomplish that?

7) Do you look down on others who don’t pray or read the Bible as much as you? If you have spiritual gifts such as tongues, do you look down on others who don’t have that? Do you not consider them in equal value in the sight of the Lord?

8) Do you bank on doing all the right things so that you can find identity in being perfect in other’s eyes? And then do you use that as power to wield over others?

9) Do you think external appearances such as wearing jewelry or a hairstyle will strip you of your holiness?

10) Did you perform all the ordinances/sacraments (baptism, communion) to prove to others and to yourself that you are legitimate?

It’s amazing how we fight for the very things that Christ has delivered us from. Throughout the whole New Testament, we see GRACE in the forefront, trying to persuade with us to trust Christ and His fulfillment of the Law. Grace is the ugly fight contending to deconstruct the ineffectiveness of legalism. It shows us over and over again that in Christ, we finally have all that we need in life and in godliness. But for some reason we are still fighting for the external traditions and rituals that avails to nothing. Here are some scriptures to show how much legalism was resisted. Notice I did not say that the law was resisted. The law is greatly upheld and if anything, it is upheld to a much higher standard in the New Covenant through Christ. “I have not come to abolish them (law) but to fulfill them.” I think it is beneficial to see how Christ upholds the law because it’ll help us see how a wrong understanding of it can lead to legalism. This is a small account of the range of content discrediting legalism, external works, and traditions.

-If you show off that you are fasting, there is no reward. (Matt. 6:16) -Jesus caused a riot when He said that the Sabbath is no longer on a certain day but fulfilled in Christ. If you only missed one Sunday service throughout the year, it doesn’t make you any more right than the Christian who worked on all the Sundays. “I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”” -Resisting the Holy Spirit is equal to uncircumcision. (Acts 7:51) -The story of Cornelius and his encounter with Peter showed two things: o that all food (external) is good and is from God o that Gentiles, though they are not circumcised (external), can be redeemed as children of God through Jesus. This points to a better circumcision: One that is internal and of the heart. -Paul stoned in Acts 19 because of ministering to the uncircumcised party. -Paul arrested for bringing Greeks into the temple. (Acts 21:28) -80% of the Book of Romans was a systematic thought elevating the law, revealing the supremacy of grace, and diminishing legalism. -When Paul talks about the gifts in 1 Corinthians, he emphasizes that a person having an external gift without love is nothing. -When talking about the Father’s reconciliation to the world, Paul talked about the silliness of those who boast about the external appearance. -A good portion of the Letter to the Galatians is a rebuke to those who are legalist and still trying to find their identity in obeying the law perfectly. Let’s not forget how Paul opposed Peter to his face because of how he avoided the uncircumcised Christians to sit with the circumcised Christians. -Paul talked about the superiority of the lineage he came from concerning circumcision and how it means nothing…a “loss” in his words. (Phil. 3:3-8) -Colossians 2 talks about how regulations, festivals, traditions don’t have any value to the power of the Gospel

I could go on and on but you get the point. I am trying to show how much this was a recurring struggle and idea throughout the New Testament. Do you think it is any different in our age today? If Jesus and His followers contended against legalism in such aggressive and consistent manner, should we not follow them in that?

By being a legalist, we disrespect God and all that He has done to save us. He came to rescue us from those very things that we are bound to. One day He will come back for us and the legalist will say that they were circumcised. That they memorized a thousand verses. That they didn’t cuss or drink. Then to those who found their salvation contingent on their legalism will hear the Lord say to them, “Depart from me!” Legalism is dangerous! Paul had some animated language for the legalist in his letter to the Galatians. “I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!” Yikes! Is anyone forcing you to do certain traditions, habits, or rituals to add to your already-given-freedom? Paul is not trying to be mean. He’s pleading with us. He is begging us to recall that it is for freedom that we have been rescued by Christ. Are you someone who put chains on other Christians who are already free? You should probably stop and receive the free grace that Christ has extended to you. Enjoy it. Are you someone who does things and performs traditions in hopes that it will make your salvation complete? Repent of it. It is for freedom that you have been redeemed! Christ took the burdens so that you wouldn’t have to. Why would you belittle the sacrifice that He made for you?

Just to be clear, I am not saying by any means that we should encourage ungodly songs into our hearts, or that we should be alcoholics, or that we shouldn’t read our bibles, or not go to church on Sundays, etc. However, I am saying that the heart behind our actions and thoughts should reflect the radical freedom we have in Christ. That freedom should give us a desire to do what’s right for the praise of His glory. We shouldn’t use rules as a crutch to love God. We also should not impose rules on other believers that God himself doesn’t impose upon. Freedom does not mean that we don’t get to do ‘this’ or ‘that’. That’s not true freedom. True freedom does not root from what you do but from what you are(heart) and whose you are(identity in Christ). True freedom says I am free to do what is right! This gift of freedom is already given to those who put their trust in Christ. No more chains.

#freedom #grace #legalism #rules #sabbath

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re-generated · 10 years ago

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THE HOLY SPIRIT’S MONOLOGUE WITH THE TIRING CHRISTIAN- CONSIDER CHRIST

We still don’t know who wrote the Book of Hebrews. There are a lot of speculation but it is probably best that we don’t know so that we can re-calibrate our focus and attention towards the real author, The Holy Spirit of God. It is only fitting then to say that the Spirit of God pleads with us to “consider Christ” when He wrote the third chapter. The Spirit of God has a main objective and that is to point to Jesus. He is always functioning to lift Christ. “How can I point to Him?”, “How can they all see the beauty of Christ?”, “Here He is”, “Worship Him”. This is what the Holy Spirit aims to do.

J.I. Packer has much to say about this and I haven’t read anything else out there that best describes the role of The Spirit of God. He says, “The Spirit’s message to us is never, “Look at me; listen to me; come to me; get to know me,” but always, “Look at him, and see His glory; listen to him, and hear his word; go to him; and have life; get to know him.” The Spirit’s “main and constant task is to mediate Jesus’ presence to us, making us aware of all that Jesus is…”

I believe what the Holy Spirit is conveying here in Hebrews 3:1 is to look at Christ. Consider Jesus. The writer is building a case to persuade those on the fence, to persevere in trusting Christ. This is my take on the monologue that the Holy Spirit has with those who are being addressed. I also envision what the Holy Spirit might be telling us in this age. Hope it encourages you to consider Christ even more than you do right now.

With the amount of persecution that exists and the temptation to deny Christ, the writer is saying, “Just hold on. Think about what you are doing. Consider Jesus”.

How can we neglect so great a salvation? Even angels longed to look into these things. Consider Jesus.

Remember Moses? He was faithful as a servant. But Christ? He was faithful as a son. Consider Jesus.

Jesus is the greater. He is the promise. He is the only hope and that hope has already come. So consider Jesus.

If you have any doubts, let me assure you, Christ is the real deal. He is the Messiah. He laid down His life for us all. He is who all the prophets and angels pointed to. Don’t miss it! Consider Jesus.

Don’t have an unbelieving heart. Don’t doubt. Don’t lose hope. Consider Jesus.

What are you standing on? Let it be on truth. Truth that strips us of everything we are until all that’s left is being found in Christ. Consider Jesus!

Exhort one another to consider Jesus. PLEASE don’t make the same mistake twice like your forefathers. Christ is here. Consider and Believe on Him.

Consider on what grounds you’re standing on. Consider what you’re giving up. You are neglecting the very salvation that you were looking forward to. Please consider Jesus.

The Holy Spirit would plead with us in this modern era the same way.

I know there is a lot of persecution around us. And if you are mocked for your convictions at school or work, Consider Jesus. Don’t forget that He was broken for us.

If you fail to claim Christ, consider Jesus because He is merciful. You’re not the first one to do that. Ask the disciple Peter.

Think about what you’re doing. He created you from dust…from your mother’s womb. He knows the number of hairs on your head. He sings over you. He’s been faithful. He’s been merciful. He has rescued you so many times. He went to the cross for you. He has never left you nor forsaken you. Consider Jesus.

Do you remember the joy He gave you when He saved you? Remember that time you cried and was overwhelmed by His presence? Consider Jesus

The atheists, agnostics, and even current post-modern ideologists are seeking what their souls were designed for but won’t be complete without Christ. He fulfills the longings that they yearn for but you, oh weary Christian, already have this and know it. Consider Jesus.

Those of this world who are swaying you away are craving life, free-will, joy, and contentment that are only purely and endlessly found in Christ. What you have is better! Consider Jesus.

So let’s see what you’re made of. As you are stripped away of everything, what’s at the base and root of you? If it’s not Christ, it’s nothing. Make your election sure. Consider Jesus.

Before Jesus came into our world, the people of Israel did not believe and so did not get the promise. Don’t do it again. Christ went out of His way to create a way that was impossible. Even then, you’re considering walking away? Consider Jesus.

I know it’s tough. It’s getting harder as you walk this journey. Persevere. You need community. There is a remnant around that will help walk you through this season. Be encouraged and refreshed. Start praying for boldness.

Consider Jesus!

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re-generated · 10 years ago

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Word of power: How both the introvert and the extrovert can glorify God through expressions and charisma

“He(Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power..." (Hebrews 1:3)

'Word of his power' implies so many things to me. The obvious is that He says and the universe obeys. He uses words to creatively express His power. We don't necessarily have the same ruling power that Jesus has over the sustenance of the universe. However we can acknowledge that "this same power that raised Christ from the dead" is in us. Though we have the same power in us(since it’s God’s power), our authorizations and roles limit us from doing things that are not in our design.

Even though this passage is not talking about our word or our power, it tells us a lot about how God designed power. It tells us that life-giving power is purposeful with expression. There are two things that are convicting about the 'word of His power'.

First: It tells us as Imago Dei and those who are co-heirs with Christ, that we cannot be a people who say we are Christians but not express Christ's power or blessings. It's simple. Christ has power to create the world, to change our hearts, to heal, to sustain the universe, etc. But there is no way we would know that or that creation would recognize the power if Christ had not expressed it. Eg: "And God said, "Let there be light" and there was light".(Gen. 1:3)

He expressed his love for us and desire to save us by demonstrating humility. "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.".(Phil. 2:8)

He modeled his reliance on the Father and his burden for His loved ones by expressing prayer and devotion. We could see this in multiple occasions.

1) His encounter with his Dad in the Garden of Gethsemane. 2) When he taught his disciples how to pray.(Luke 11) 3) The John 17 prayers to the Father, and for the saints and sinners.

In the same way, we as co-heirs of Christ have the power to do right, live holy, love God and our neighbors. The question is not if we are doing acts of works to prove our power but rather, is our life a pure reflection of Christ's power in us. They are not the same. The former proves human power. The latter proves God's power.

Second: It tells me that expression comes in various forms but it's an expression nonetheless. Expressions for the Christian can be seen in the personal and corporate setting.

Not all giftings that we possess are necessarily expressions. Your secular job for instance can be used for God's glory but it's not an expression of His "power". However, your character at work, your work ethic, and your integrity before God is an expression of His power.

Some who expresses too much are just showing off. But then you also have those who genuinely express as a means for work-based salvation. Both are actually powerless. Someone who expresses a lot doesn't mean they're automatically a Christian. And someone who is trying to gain the approval of the Lord by doing more work is not sourced in God’s power either.

CHARISMA. We all worship God in our own way. Some are more reflective and some voice it out. However, using one expression that you are comfortable with doesn't make it ok to neglect other expressions, especially in the design seen in Scriptures. Your expressions can be more reserved and quiet than others around you. You could be someone who takes nature in and it causes you to worship. That's totally great. Not everyone worships the same way. However, when you are in corporate worship with the people of God, Scriptures are filled with the idea that you vocally lift Him up and have charismatic gestures. This would include clapping, lifting up of the hands, dancing, using of instruments, etc. Do you think God is charismatic? I think so! I don’t think being an introvert vs. extrovert has any bearing on having bible-centered expressions. I’ve seen extroverted and introverted families/friends of mine applaud loudly at a graduation ceremony when they see their loved ones walk. I’ve seen them yell, scream, and chant their favorite sports teams or favorite contestants on ‘The Voice’. These evidences prove that our charismatic expressions are not respective of our social characterizations.

We should be more expressive than we ought to be in our corporate setting. If we are not willing to, we should do some introspection on why we do it for other things on earth - which are common graces given kindly to us by the Lord - and not for the things of the Lord. Some say it’s not appropriate for the setting. If that’s true, where would we find that in Scriptures? That claim requires a greater burden of proof. We should charismatically express ourselves in the corporate setting because Scriptures implies it. When we are worshiping in a corporate setting, we are giving every breath we breathe and everything we have to the King of all Kings! Remember the moment Jordan took that game-winning shot against the Jazz in the finals...and made it? Remember the moment when the iPhone came out? Remember when you hiked up a mountain and was humbled by the grandeur? Remember when the minister declared you, husband and wife at your wedding? Remember when you rode the bike for the first time and your parents applauded and cheered you on? Remember when you were screaming at the TV hoping that your favorite athlete would complete that play? He’s astronomically greater than all those moments! He’s greater than all the best NFL, NBA, and NHL players put together. His ‘awesomeness’ is beyond last year’s finalist for “The Voice”.

John Frame in his book, ‘Worship in Spirit and Truth’ says, “Clapping expresses joy...” It’s appropriate to clap and celebrate what He has done. If you don’t know what He has done, read the Bible. It’s appropriate to lift your hands in surrender with the people of God. You’re agreeing with each other in that moment to acknowledge your nothingness and His everything-ness. Frame goes on to say, “ lifting the hands is a way of drawing toward God as the object of our worship and the source of our blessing.” It’s appropriate to say “Amen” when gospel truth is declared. It’s appropriate to chant out truths in the songs sung because it displays the unity of believers agreeing to those truths. Isn’t that why we sing the national anthem together? “ Worship that is devoid of emotion errs as well, in that it demonstrates that it has not arisen from seeing God, whom to see is to wonder at with every faculty of the soul.”(ReformationTheology.com)

Listen, by no means, am I saying you need to be a certain way. I, myself, fall short of this. I tend to not be as charismatic in worship nowadays but these reflections have been convicting me about the need to be more responsive. You can be an introvert or an extrovert but that doesn’t mean you should not do what’s prescribed in Scriptures and ignore what you see in nature as true. Like I mentioned in the beginning, these thoughts are not meant to be hermeneutically accurate to the verse in Hebrews but to imply the purpose of words for the power. Everything points back to His power and His glory. Let’s find words, deeds, songs, and all other forms to express power - the power that’s in Jesus name! The power that raised Christ from the dead. The power that sources love, grace, and truth!

#words #power #wordofpower #hebrews #intovert #extrovert #charisma

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re-generated · 10 years ago

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Marvel at His Time

When we think about the progress that Chloe has made through these last few days, all we can do is marvel. It is truly marveling to see the governance of God. It’s a ‘governing’ that no human can understand. He is in control and yet that “gun” is loaded with grace, love, and compassion . It’s centered on the Gospel. Time is part of his governance. It’s not our enemy but God uses it for our good. Time is an agent of His faithfulness causing us to be intrinsically aware of the depths of our soul as the seasons come and go. His governance in turn causes us to worship and point to the greatness of His glory. It causes us to marvel! I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or if everything is going to be perfect from here on out. All we know is we'd rather hide behind the shadow of His wings when the storms rage. And when the storm passes, we, as a family, can look back and see the fruit in our waiting. Whether it was in wondering why it took three years for us to figure this out, or why was Chloe’s surgery re-scheduled twice, or when is she going to recover such an intense surgery - He is faithful and always on time!

Here’s some pictures of her progress.

Right after surgery: ate a full breakfast with pancakes and fruits within 10 hours of surgery. She was also cleared out of the ICU within 13 hours of surgery.

15 hours later: She started walking and going to the bathroom by herself. It was also a tough day filled with pain and tears.

Today morning with her surgeon, Dr. G. (34 hours later):

Dr G. gave us the report that everything went very well. She said all tests came back normal and she’s in route to full recovery. Chest tubes were taken out.

And finally here’s a picture from just an hour ago - She called me and had a joyful conversation with me. She started playing in the play area.

Our hearts are overwhelmed as we marvel at his timing. Whatever comes our way, It is well.

#edengirl #chennankara #faithful #time #marvel

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re-generated · 10 years ago

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Why the desire for godliness and hoping in the gospel is greater than a supernatural healing for Chloe.

A couple months ago, we went for Chloe's three year check up. As our pediatrician was doing Chloe’s routine check-up, he asked us how we thought she did this whole year. By God's grace Chloe had not been sick for a whole year and that was something our doctor was excited about. He then proceeded to check her heart and heard a subtle murmur – a murmur he had continued to hear from birth and into every check-up over the last three years. He said that usually the murmur should’ve gone away by now so he advised us to go see a cardiologist as soon as possible. Two weeks later, we took Chloe to see the Cardiologist and an ECHO was done for her. After the ECHO was done, the Cardiologist gave us some news that we were not expecting. He said that Chloe had a 9-10 mm hole in her heart. The actual diagnosis given was Anomalous Atrial Septal Defect with Partial Sinus Venosus. It’s something she was born with and is somewhat common among other kids, with the hope that the hole would close as time goes by. However, in Chloe’s case, the hole did not close up. The only way to close it now is through an open heart surgery. They cannot do a cath procedure to close it up because of its rare location. At first, we had a hard time believing it. I was definitely in denial. She’s so active, talkative, noisy, jumpy, and energetic. This can’t be. As a couple days passed, we were able to process things better and felt we should move to the next step as fast as we could.

We asked for a second opinion and went to a different facility for testing. Before we got to doing that, we informed our church members and those close to us. A home group member encouraged us in saying, “I think the Lord loves it when we go to him for healing”. Another good friend of mine from Virginia, also reminded me not to think too small of God. If you know me, you would know that I have shifted quite a bit from my Pentecostal roots and I can be quite skeptical of some “divine” gifts, mostly because I witnessed the abuse of it growing up. Even though I believe that God could heal, the word “healing” was tainted by my past negative experiences. However, I have learned that my experiences should not negate what’s actually true about God and what He says in His word. He can heal! He will heal! And we have to believe that with all our hearts.

So I stopped thinking about the open heart surgery and decided it’s time we put this in the hands of the One who is always “clutch” in the matters of these things. My wife and I started earnestly going before the Lord in prayer for healing and those close to us joined in this endeavor as well. The day of the second opinion came around and Chloe had another ECHO with another (well-known) cardiologist. The whole time we were praying with all the faith we could muster up. The cardiologist met with us after and the results came out to be the same as the first opinion. It was then confirmed.

What was our reaction? Peace. Not anxiety. Not anger. Peace. Why? Because the God who performed the greatest healing of all time, in all of the universe, by repairing our fractured hearts through the cross of Jesus Christ, was capable of closing this physical hole in Chloe’s physical heart. However, for sovereign reasons, He chose not to. There is so much peace in that because He is in control. He cares for Chloe more than we as parents ever could! He knows what He is doing. To my friends who think that God heals with the amount of faith we have and/or to those who assume that our optimism of healing parallels a greater understanding of God’s power: I would encourage you to re-consider. If one prays for healing and it doesn't happen, it is okay to say that God chose not to heal.

But to somehow be in denial? And to try to muster more faith? Or to bother those are going through the suffering to pray more (In assumption that they’re not praying enough)? Now that’s a small, skewed, understanding of the governing omnipotence of our God. Sometimes, in not healing, God displays His power just as much, if you will yield to His will. Those who have suffered and have not experienced healing but are still walking strong in the Lord will attest to that. What an opportunity for the Lord to expose our idols and our lack of trust in God for real power. This real power which could transform character and give more joy than if God did physically heal, for the praise of His glorious grace! 1 Timothy 4 suggests this as well. “Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Don’t you see? Godliness is of more value than what can benefit you physically. I’ll tell you what the real “bummer” is. If you desire to be like Christ and He didn't provide you the means for that. That if you desired to be healed of your carnal nature so you could partake in eternal life but He didn't give you a way out. But thanks be to God that He has given “everything we need in godliness and in life” through Christ Jesus. (2 Peter 1:3) Now that’s real power and real healing! Here’s what Christ Himself says: “Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”

Another concept we frequently forget is ‘common grace’. Medicine is an emissary of God’s healing through common grace. Mike Emlet says it like this, “We should not be under the impression that we can simply preach at people…expecting that [it] will address these forms of sufferings. In many instances God has given us medication and other therapies as good gifts of common grace. However, ultimately speaking, our good deeds in the body must be done in service of the ultimate “healing” which happens through salvation in Jesus Christ.” (Westminster Theological Seminary, Course via CCEF)

Paul in his first letter to Timothy says, “…but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” James 5:14&15 says to use oil when praying. There are multiple interpretations for this and is not always hermeneutically clear. However, oil in that time was used as medicine for multiple sickness and wounds. Again an implication apart from supernatural healing and towards common grace. With as much medical innovation that is available to us these days, let us not be so quick to dismiss it as an unspiritual option. In Chloe’s case, the Lord has chosen to not supernaturally heal or physically close the hole in her heart. Did we give up on asking God to heal? By no means! We pray every night with her for her healing. We have men and women of God around us and request them to lay hands on her for healing. But as of right now the reality is, she is not going to be healed without surgery.

Many have asked about Chloe and have been praying for her. For that we want to say, “Thanks”. We are overwhelmed by the care and love. Other than healing, here’s some ways you can be intentionally praying for Chloe:

1) Pray for her surgery and that it’d go successfully.

2) Pray for the cardiothoracic surgeons and their fellows. That God would guide their hands and judgement for proper performance of the surgery.

3) Pray for Chloe that she would respond well to the surgery, medications, and all other treatments.

4) Pray that our idols be exposed concerning Chloe. Pray that the Lord may show where we are not trusting Him so that we may lay down our anxieties for His supernatural peace. Pray that our hope will be in what Christ has already done for us through the Gospel and not in the outcome of this surgery.

Three years ago, God blessed us with a beautiful baby girl. We were calling her by name months before she even came out. We prayed for her salvation every night before she was born and continue to plead for her eyes to be unveiled to see the beauty of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. When it’s all said and done, this is what we are banking on. This is the ultimate healing we want for Chloe. I pray those who read this will desire the same.

#chloe #edengirl #ASD #hopeinthegospel #godliiness #healiing #supernatural

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re-generated · 10 years ago

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The Contemplation of God's Immutability And How It Overpowered My Depression.

A little over a year ago (2013), I found myself alone for New Years with my daughter Chloe. We were at my parent’s house and my brother, Ben, had decided to come by from Denton and stay over that night. We thought it would be good to invite a few close friends and do our own little “watch-night”. We ate some food and had some fellowship. As it got closer to midnight, only three of us remained: Ben (Brother), Samson (Friend), and myself.

Each of us took turns as we started reflecting on the year, being in a state of thankfulness towards God. As it became my turn to reflect, I started searching for things to say and immediately turned cold in my heart. I told them, “I really don’t know what to be thankful for. There’s not much”. I wasn’t expecting myself to say that but it is how I felt in that very moment. I had went on to say that 2013 had been such a dark year for me and an on/off year dealing with “depression.” It was not the clinical type, but as the Psalmist would say, “downcast oh my soul” type of depression. Nothing in life was working out for me. My career wasn’t panning out like I thought it would. I had decided to try to go back to school in an attempt to find another career but that was met with extreme difficulty as I was a full-time dad and a full-time student. I still remember getting multiple phone calls during class from Chloe’s daycare to come pick her up because she was sick. We had at least 4 E.R. trips that year. At the same time, I was trying to get into ministry positions but that wasn’t working out as well. All the goals that I had set out for myself was not coming together like I had planned it. I found myself doubting my choices and being in much despair at many times throughout the year. I started questioning God’s ways and His plans, while not believing the truth about His goodness. Funny thing is that over the years, I was the go-to-guy many had approached for figuring out God’s will in their lives. I always had an answer for them but often times I didn’t fully understand why it was so difficult for others to figure out God’s will. This was because everything always worked out for me and anything I put my mind to turned out to be a success. Until I was met with this harsh season in my life.

I spent the majority of that year being anxious about God’s will and trying to figure out what He was doing because nothing was making sense. Nights were spent in lots of tears, while emotions were constantly erratic and polarizing. My conversations with the Lord were so inconsistent. “I love you Lord” to “I don’t think you really care about me”. “I know you will take care of me” to “You don’t really give good gifts.” “I know you’re sovereign” to “I’m done pleading with you Lord because nothing is happening.” It was so weird. I never had this kind of season ever! I felt like I was in a ditch so deep that I couldn’t see a way out. My life was controlled by my ever changing will, personality, and emotions.

While I was drowning myself in my own depression, I understood that I myself was responsible for this state of mind. On that New Year’s Eve, my brother Ben and my friend Samson spoke some truths into my soul as well. It gave me new perspective and in the next few months, almost every week, there was at least one person who kept encouraging and speaking life into me. My hard heart had melted and I was pressing in to Him in prayer and through the Word. I spent the next month or so fasting and then something crazy happened. It wasn’t some new revelation or something I’ve never heard before. In fact, it was very simple but still mind-blowing. I realized that God was still there. He was there the whole time. He had not changed the way of revealing Himself to me in spite of my wrongful emotions, my disobedience, or my sinful behaviors. All along, He was still super involved in my sanctification, my personal growth, and my pursuits. His promises remained the same in my darkest times and in the times that I felt Him close. No matter how far I was running, He was still pursuing me. The evidences in my life was proving how He was for me and my good, relentlessly assuring me that I am not forgotten. He was just waiting for the dust to settle. He was hanging around for all the smoke to clear so I could see His unchanging nature in the midst of my ever-changing nature. Though I had predicated my life on how rough my season was, God was behind the scenes anchoring my life to the truths of His unchanging nature even through my mistakes and misunderstandings.

So when asked what I am thankful for, I am reminded in this new season to be grateful for His Immutability. He can’t change because He is already perfect. James 1:17 says, “…the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” We are the unstable ones. The “wandering stars” as Jude would say. We are inconsistent in our walk with Him, in our character, and in our desires. We love and then don’t love. We pray and then decide not to pray. We trust and then decide to doubt Him. We would be like those who cried “Hosanna” to Jesus and in the next moment cry, “Crucify Him”. We would shamelessly declare our love for Him and then shamefully deny Him. We, like the disciples, would see the craziest miracle happen and then still doubt when He asks us to walk on water. But God is not like us. We faithlessly sin against Him by believing a lie but He faithfully forgives and finishes His work in us. He is stable. He is consistent in His commitment to our salvation, justification, sanctification, and glorification. His love for us in Christ is the highest form of love that never wavers. When we don’t pray, He is still interceding for us. When we don’t trust Him, He is patient. In His waiting, His electing work in us is producing an efficacious faith to trust Him. When my emotions run wild and my anxiety overtakes me, His promise for the “peace that passes all understanding” remains - because His Word is anchored on His permanent and unchanging character.(Philippians 4:7; Isaiah 54:10) He won’t take back His words. His words won’t change when He said, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose… Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” That nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8) These are God’s promises to us in Christ through His unchanging Word. Psalm 119:89 says that His Word is “forever settled in heaven.” Need I say more?

I can now fix my life on the realities of this unchanging truth. Honestly, the permanence of His character pleads a strong case in my soul to trust him completely. That’s how I got out of that ditch. That’s how I walked out of that dark space alive. I don’t know where you are in life or how you are approaching this new season but I encourage you to trust Him because He never changes. When all around is sinking sand, He will be the rock that stays immovable! Because of His unchanging nature, we can now rest on His promises and walk this world fearlessly. Let’s be thankful for that. Below is a lyric video to a song that was in our Sons & Shadows EP. It’s called Master and Commander. It sums up some of the emotions I felt through these last couple years. Enjoy!

#masterandcommander #immutability #depression #downcast #bannerislove #jesushelovesme #Hisimmutability #Heisforme

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re-generated · 10 years ago

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Author of Salvation - My Case for Unconditional Election

What does it mean to “recommit”? I was brought up around that kind of language. I am sure I had probably done it myself and had led others to do that when leading worship in the past. I still remember kids who I thought were already in Christ that would get up for testimony in the end of the year and say they were “filled” with the Holy Spirit during fasting meetings. It followed with either, “I recommitted my life to the Lord” or “I rededicated my life to the Lord”. What about church camps or retreats? Who can forget the spontaneous revivals on Saturday nights with emotional enlightenments and guilt-trips? In the charismatic camps, it’s the guilt of one not experiencing tongues and how it was almost looked down upon if not encountered. In the non-charismatic camps, it would be the sermon based on legalism/hell-heaven that would guilt you into accepting Christ. Both camps result in the same testimony for those already thought to be in Christ: “I recommitted my life to Christ this weekend.” This trail would leave some to be super-holy that week in school/work and breaking up with their significant other. Let’s define it and then let’s think through it. Merriam-Webster says it is: “to entrust or consign again.” The question would then be, “What are we ‘entrusting again’ with?” Are we trusting God again with our salvation, or with our lives, or with a temptation, or through a trial? The last three are very normal of a believer to recommit towards but how about salvation? If we are talking salvation, we have to break it down into two parts. First part would be in context of the authorship of our salvation and the second part would be in the keeping of our salvation. Authorship is what I am discussing in this blog. Both are legitimate, however, scripturally both are not independent. The latter is possible only because of the former work in us. It is my personal conviction that both the authorship and maintaining of our salvation are in the hands of God. We should be relieved that it is not in ours. If it was in our hands, we would reject Him….every time! But the Holy Spirit never chooses wrong. Or else He wouldn't be Holy!

AUTHORSHIP: If the Holy Spirit opens up our eyes to see Christ as the most beautiful object and awakens our soul to choose Christ, we need to remind ourselves that it was Him all along that chose Christ. As David sang, “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side…” (Psalm 124)

Now it can get complicated because you’re probably wondering, “Well what’s the human involvement?” Before Christ saves a person, we had a fractured will, heart, and mind. We had a dead soul. This means, we never choose rightly. That’s why the Old Testament life required prophets, and their presentation of the law before God’s people, and had the order of priesthood put in place to make sure God’s people lived according to the law. This would prove to be very taxing for the people of God because the perfect law constantly kept people’s righteousness out of commission. We could never meet the demands of a Holy God’s law. Like Paul said, “The letter kills.” Maybe this passage will shed some light: “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:4-6)

That’s why God sent His only Son! Because Jesus is the only One who could do it and He did do it. In the new covenant, those who are in Christ can choose right for the first time but not because we inherently had a righteous choice. It’s because the Holy Spirit listened to God, the Father about where and on whom the wind should blow, so that the one blown over can choose the perfect Messiah. Jesus echoes this in His conversation with Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

That’s why election is such a foundational doctrine. Why fear it! Jesus has more to say about this, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent…All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out…No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (John 6:29;37;44) If a person is in Christ, it means that God the Father elected that person. In His election, He sends His Holy Spirit to awaken the new adopted child so that their eyes may see and behold Christ. It should humble us and not make us proud. There was nothing special about us. His word says, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise . . . so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. . . . Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:27, 29, 31). We had no merit. In fact, most of us were the Gentile dogs under the table looking for scraps. (Matthew 15:26) We hated God. (Romans 5:10) We didn't seek Him out. (John 15:16; Romans 3:11) We were enemies with Him. (Romans 5:10) We despised and rejected Him. (Isaiah 53:3) We crucified Him. We were lost and afar. Like Paul, we were the “chief of all sinners.” We are so undeserving. But God! He is kind, slow to anger, and abounding in love. His grace has no bounds. His mercy is unheard of. His faithfulness is unmatched. His election is not a ploy of philosophy or a VIP status. It is holy.

And so to answer the question, “What’s our involvement?” Nothing! Nothing apart from the grace of God and his electing work in us. Augustus Toplady wrote in "Rock of Ages": Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress, Helpless, look to Thee for grace He penned this in view of the doctrine of election. Christ started and did it all so that none of us can boast. He is the author of our salvation. (Hebrews 12:2) Have you ever wrote a letter, or a blog, or a song? In any of those instances, has the words popped out of the paper and claimed responsibility for its authorship? Probably not. I can see some concerns because we all have our salvation testimonies and we all have responded to His call. However, it is important for us all to look at our experiences retrospectively. Based on all the scriptural proofs above, we need to understand that not only is our response to His salvation due to Him choosing us but also our ability to respond was because the Holy Spirit softened our hearts, bestowing upon us the gift of faith to choose Christ.

There are many who argue this. The Pelagian will say salvation is 0% God and 100% Human Free-Will. The Classic Arminian will say its 50% God and 50% Human. The Wesleyan Arminian would say 75% God and 25% Man. But personally, I see much truths in the Reformed conviction. That is: Salvation is 100% God’s work and 100% Human Free-Will. (I stole this from my professor in seminary: Dr. Carl Ellis) When God saves us in His electing providence, it finally brings the dead bones to life and now we can have 100% free-will to choose Christ. The new-born believer will progressively always choose Christ. Don’t you see how relevant this is? The choice has always been between Christ and our sin. Between Christ and Satan. Between Christ and sinful response to our sufferings, trials, and dark circumstances. Between Christ for our character or carnal nature for our character. Between Christ as the ultimate desire or the world as the ultimate desire. Between Christ and not praying. Between Christ and not loving your spouse. Between Christ and praying to show off. Between Christ and fasting to show off. Between Christ and being a morally good person. Between Christ and giving to charity for your religiousIty. Between Christ and your legalism. Between Christ and being religious. I can go on and on. The goal and internal desire of every Christian will always be to choose Christ in every situation in life. I know it sounds impossible but with Christ nothing is impossible. This was the mystery that Christ and Paul kept reiterating when talking about impossibility. You can take what I just mentioned above and apply to verses like: Mark 10:25, Hebrews 6:4-18, Hebrews 11:6, and Philippians 4:13.

This brings me to my conclusion. We cannot recommit ourselves to Christ in the context of being saved. If God is the one who truly authored and started our salvation, then it is more than enough to save us once and for all. If he commands the dry bones to live, then it won’t go back to being dry bones. If it did, our God’s power is limited. Christ didn't go back to the grave. He is glorified! If the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us, then we don’t go back to being dead either. So if you recently recommitted your life to Christ, there’s some things to consider. Were you ever saved in the first place? If you were saved earlier at a point but struggled with sins, that doesn't necessarily mean you backslid. It depends. Was your desire for Christ and your affections for His kingdom overpowering majority of your sinful desires? If that’s you, that is an evidence of His salvation. There wouldn't be a need to recommit unless it’s in a context of sanctification. However, if you “think” you were saved, but then backslid to a point where you loved sin more than Christ, then you probably should ask yourself if you were saved in the first place. If you’re in this position, you need to consider if that “recommitting” was genuine. Or you might find yourself recommitting your life every year. That’s a sign of a dead god’s power. It’s a sensitive issue. This is why Peter encourages us to, “be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election…” (2 Peter 1:10)

Let us come before God with reverence and trembling when we consider salvation. It is a holy thing. We are nothing. We are dead people who had no desires for Him. God so loved us, that He sent His son, and died a horrific death in our place. He was tried and tempted and yet lived a perfect life. He was the perfect sacrifice once-and-for-all so that those who put their trust in Him will never be put to shame! It was a sacrifice that was sufficient to save us thoroughly simply because He authored it. He said “Let there be light and there was light”. If the same God said to our undeserving dry bones, “Awake and Live for Me.” What do you think happens?

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:4-10)

#unconditionalelection #recommit #rededicatemylife #salvation #authorofsalvation #pelagian #arminian #reformed #wesleyan #chooseChrist #nothingisimpossible

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re-generated · 11 years ago

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The Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ must testify with our Spirit about who we are, whose we are, and how we are to live life in view of the Gospel.

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re-generated · 11 years ago

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ESSENTIALS: The Gospel and its evidences.

I come across this question a lot. There are friends of mine who are unbelievers who ask this question and surprisingly, there are those who are already Christians that ask me this question as well: "What's the Gospel?” Its simple isn't it? We would give a cliff-note answer with a 5-line prayer. Except it just doesn't work as well as we think.

We are living in a post-modern era where a cliff-note answer or salvation prayer does not do an effectual work of the saving power of Christ in the individual. There needs to be dialogue and reasoning. But ultimately it is the love of Christ working in us, through the Spirit, mixed with our pestering prayers that leads them to repentance and life. Please note: I am not saying that it is methods that save a person because that is not true. However, the more information - that is Scripture saturated information - people have, the better they can weigh their current "truths" in light of the truths presented. David says in Psalm 119:130, "The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple." I noticed that people are just not interested in the gospel if you can't explain to them why you believe what you believe and why they do need a Savior. I grew up in a Christian home where Christ was preached all the time and yet I struggled to understand and explain what the Gospel was. It was not until I was challenged by my non-Christian friends about what I believed that I started becoming more aware of how uninformed I was. Please understand…people don’t just need information. They need something they can hold on to, something tangible, something to cling to, and something that is far better, precious, and beautiful than all the vain treasures they hold on to. Some of the questions I get asked is, “Why Jesus”? And some will say, “Sure I’ll take Jesus!” but holding on to all their other idols, thus proving that they haven’t found Christ as their greatest treasure. In the world we live in today, Jesus is just one of a thousand “menu” items. In a world of social media, endless entertainment, and sex-on-demand culture, there is a plethora of options. So why Jesus? This is a struggle even for the “Christian” person these days. They say they love Jesus but desiring God supremely and meditating on Scriptures feels like Doomsday to them! Why pray and read, when I have 10 seasons of a series that I haven’t watched yet on Netflix. And then when I am bored, Facebook never fails me with their ever-updating newsfeed, and then the twitterfeed, and all the hundreds of ‘feeds’ that are feeding me empty satisfaction and a joy that’s a means to an end. In today’s social media, everyone’s got multiple identities so that we can finally find some self-worth we couldn’t find in the real world. When I am bored with the feeds, I can hop into my car, go to one of my favorite restaurants and eat that meal that’ll make me happy. I can then call one of my buddies, go grab a beer, and let the world spin. The non-Christian would then say that they can hook up with a girl and have sex that night and that'll fulfill their joy. Some with families would say that they don’t have a rocky marriage…they’re happy! So why Jesus!?? “What about Jesus is going to make my life better? I am already having a blast!”

My goal here is not to answer or resolve the above problems but to point to why a proper understanding of the Gospel in light of the above context will certainly help your endeavors in personal evangelism. It'll also help the Christian do some self-inquiry if there are evidences of Christ's saving work in them. For the Christian, not all of the above stuff is wrong as I am guilty of a few of them. However, we must always keep watch the barometer of our faith, to see if we are where we’re supposed to be. If we're not, there needs to be soul-searching. The Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ must testify with our Spirit about who we are, whose we are, and how we are to live life in view of the Gospel. We should encourage our fellow family in Christ to be equipped with the narrative of the Gospel as it will prove useful. Here’s how I make sense of the narrative of the Gospel and I would love to hear your narratives.

The Gospel is good news. The good news is Jesus Christ. We are a people who were marked for destruction and hell because of what Adam and Eve did that day in the garden of Eden.(Gen:3:6,7) They disobeyed the Lord and believed the lie that the serpent so deceivingly presented. Since then, the bridge between man and God was broken down. The faculty of our will and mind were fractured and darkened. Our hearts were dead and unable to wage war against the sinful nature that dominated our every being. Into our lives came the devastating effects of mortality through sickness, suffering, death, and eternal damnation.

For years, mediums such as high priests and sacrifices were established by God to keep a limited dimension of communication with His remnant. The people that God had separated for Himself, could not live up to the standards of His righteousness. They constantly failed and rebelled against God. Prophets were anointed by the Lord to call the people of God back to repentance because of the condemnation they had stacked up for themselves. It is important to note that the fact God still had a remnant, established the law, created a sacrificial system, and called upon prophets, were all signs of God’s everlasting mercy. And in His great mercy, God was carrying out a plan which was conveyed piece by piece to His people, from Abraham to the prophets. This plan would bring salvation to the corners of the world. This plan would allow for God’s word to be written on our hearts. This plan would establish a kingdom that will last forever. However, this plan would not come without a great cost to God, the Father because it would mean sending His only Son, Jesus to this broken world of ours to be broken for us.

So it happened as it was said by the prophets. The Messiah was born to be our Emmanuel. He was born a man, yet also fully God. He was tempted but without sin and lived a life without blemish, which was meritorious for His journey to the cross. He was a “man of sorrows”, broken and despised by the world as He bore the weight of all our sins and condemnation. “He was bruised for our transgression; He was crushed for our iniquities…yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him…” (Isaiah 53:3-10) In this horrific act towards our Lord Jesus Christ, He took on our punishment as He imputed to us His righteousness. He loved us while we were enemies with Him, as we nailed Him to a cross to die the death that we deserved. This plan of mercy and grace, which was initially filled with grief, bought our redemption and salvation. He became the second Adam, who obeyed His Father, reversing the chaos laid by the hands of the first Adam.

For those of us who are awakened to this reality can now put their trust in Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross. The bridge that was broken between us and God is now repaired, reconciling us to the Father, who is always for His children. As He rose from the dead three days later, He is now alive to us. He put a new spirit in us, awakened our dead hearts, and gave us a new faculty that is of His will and His mind. Now, our new Spirit-filled nature dominates our every being, waging war against the weakened carnal nature that has no power over the new man. The Word is not just on tablets but in our hearts, which is at work in us “to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.”(Phil 2:13) We are no longer in bondage to the sin that destroyed us, but controlled by the Spirit, enabling a true freedom to sin no more. In Jesus, we can now know God. And not in a way that Abraham, Moses, or David did but in a better way! Hebrews 11:40 says that, “God had provided something better for us.” This “something better” is Jesus and the promise we have in Him. This is the good news! This is the gospel!

I remember the first time I was able to talk this out with myself. The Holy Spirit used the Gospel, enveloped by His Word to soften my heart. I need to tell myself of this Gospel as it helps me walk head-on strong with whatever trials or temptations that may befall me on that day. A proper understanding of the Gospel warns me of the false realities around me and encourages me to trust God’s timeless truths.

The evidence that a person is filled with the truths of the Gospel and that they really are Christians will display: - a complete dependence on the joy and satisfaction that Christ gives. - Affections that magnify Christ highly that the things of this world grow dim - a trust in His sovereignty and glory over my sovereignty and glory. - a peaceful rest in what Christ says about my worth and who I am. Not looking to what others say or what worth we think social media provides.

Do you see some of these evidences in your walk with Christ? Are you resting in the Gospel and what it means for us? Do you really believe that his joy is better?

Are you bored, weary, and downcast? David says, “My soul is weary with sorrow: strengthen me according to your word.” Are you tired of lying and living a lie? David says, “Keep me from the way of deceit. Grant me your law graciously! I have chosen the way of truth. I have set your ordinances before me.” Where is your ultimate delight? David says, “I will delight myself in your commandments, because I love them.” Do you rejoice more in what God has given you materialistically? David boasts, “I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies, as much as in all riches.”

Press in to the Lord and see if these evidences exist.

I’ll leave with some more words of David in Psa.119: “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you;” “… “…I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word.” “…I will delight myself in your commandments, because I love them.” “…You are good, and do good. Teach me your statutes.”

#gospel #Jesus #Jesus is better #fractured will

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re-generated · 11 years ago

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Why I am not a Pentecostal? Why there needs to be a reform? And why I still believe in it's future.

Labels shouldn't define us but we need to deal with them because they exist. I know this is a little transparent but these are serious concerns that have less to do with how I feel and more to do with being in line with Scriptures, which in turn always pleases our God. I am in this continuum of wanting a balance within the Cessationist/ Reformed Continuationist/ Pentecostalist movements because I feel like God is in the balance. There's always a pendulum that needs to keep moving so that a proper balance is kept. With recent events at the Strange Fire conference, there has been quiet a buzz between the different camps. The truth is: this has been an issue for a long time but it took a non-charismatic like MacArthur to wake a lot of us up. Are we believing what we want to believe without being open-minded? Are we to believe things just because our parents believed it? I know I did. **Here are some of my disclaimers before I begin: Me and my wife don't consider ourselves a Pentecostal, at least not in the blueprints that the general denomination's statement of beliefs have laid out. However, we would still believe and be an advocate for the Pentecostal experience. It's not the same! Due to the lack of a label to properly define us, we have fallen under the 'Reformed Charismatics' label, however, we still don't die by that. We are very conservative about the gifts in that we line up with MacArthur in so many ways but we are still not cessasionists, finding ourselves under the labels of continuationist, which I think has a lot more baggage than you think.** I am writing this so as to re-examine some of the recent debates of cessationist vs. continuationist. Let's see where we can challenge and encourage each other. I pray that you will prayerfully consider my thoughts and not how I have offended you but see if there is anyway in which we have all offended God. This matters greatly! I am not the final authority on any of this matter and so please feel free to add to the matter. We should dialogue these things out. Important historical moments took place only through dialogues.

Argument #1) Pentecostal experience is real! I am not going to say all of it is real but there is an essence of it that is real because it has caused a major shift (positively)of evangelization in the world. It has affected music and worship. It has affected the more emotional pestering in prayer that is not seen in non-Pentecostal circles. It has affected missionaries in that through the experience, multitudes of missionaries have emerged all around the world and many that went to their death! It rejuvenated and refreshed the Church as a whole...gave it a fresh refresh, if you may! It was so real, that baptists like John Piper, could not deny it, as far back as in a sermon in 1984(!!) or even Wayne Grudem or Sam Storms. While all that is said, let's say what its not.

Argument #2) Pentecostal experience is not dogmatic and equally not necessary. It doesn't get you into heaven. It doesn't reconcile a sinner to the Father. It doesn't save one from their sins. It doesn't have the power to make your heirs with Christ! It doesn't provide grounds for heresy or excommunication from the body of Christ. It doesn't excuse from the sacraments, especially the breaking of bread and wine. It doesn't give one a VIP pass in the kingdom of God. Let me swing the pendulum the other way now.

Argument #3) This does not mean that Pentecostal experience isn't effective. On the contrary, I can make a strong case in saying that there are many(charismatics) who lived post-Azuza and had weak theology, were very effective for the gospel. This doesn't mean they are right. In fact, a lot of Galatians 1 theology could be of play. Let me explain: If the Christ that's preached is un-parallel with the Christ that the apostles preached, they should be accursed!

However, the ongoing of their effectiveness, is the outworking of two things. a) God saves people despite their understanding of true theology. I know I was! b) These are also classic cases of Luke 9:49-50. "John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.” But these are cases that are the exception, rather than the norm.

Argument #4) The norms, I will not press on as much here, because I feel that this is what John MacArthur is fighting about. I strongly believe that. This is where MacArthur is taking the pains to seek scriptures to nullify the errs of the Pentecostal experience movement. The norms are millions and millions of people who are not "truly" saved even despite the point I made above: that folks are saved despite their theology. This category of people who follow these theologies, are in my opinion, not saved. These dangerous theologies are the likes of: Oneness Pentecostals like what T.D. Jakes used to endorse back in the day, word of faith folks, catholic charismatics, etc. I would not include the 'Jesus Culture' movement in the group above, however, worship plays a ginormous role in the Pentecostal church and they have a responsibility to guard the church with healthy theology. Jesus Culture movement does not guard the church well. And now, not only is their church having an unhealthy understanding of God but the thousands of churches that absolutely go frenzy over their music. All these movements are precursory to being demonic or are already demonic. They should be called out. They are worldly magicians, playing a game, with the forged signature of the third person of the Trinity. They are wolves. They are not of the light. They are masquerading around in churches all around the world with the gospel of another Jesus Christ, that the apostles had not preached. These people have their own brand of discipleship. They lead other people into deception. These wolves disciple millions, and initially these newbies are not as bad as these leading wolves. They are misinformed. They are not revealed the true gospel mandated in a way that Romans 10 models, when talking about the swift feet that brings good news! They are innocent(indulge me as I say "innocent") and don't mean harm, but they are deceived into another gospel, attaining a false salvation, living out the first and second outcome of the parable of the seed, upon thorns and rocks. From here on, they live a lie. They sing songs to Jesus but not from a regenerated soul but a soul that is still carnal, depraved, unreconciled to the Father, and worship an idol that is a false Jesus. This is scary! This is how many of us, born in a Christian home can easily be "Christian" but not be real Christians. I feel broken for these folks, as I was one of them. I fell for the Benny Hinn's of my day...the 'Suresh Babus' to be more relevant. I have faked speaking in tongues many times just because I could and got riled up in emotions. This doesn't mean that was what I always did. It just means that my experience can be fallible. I believed we could change an Omniscient God's mind and plans by praying harder. I believed the message that 'urban gospel music' conveyed, as I was drawn to their style of music; only to know later that most of them were driven by prosperity theology! I "prophesied" in His name. I gambled on figuring out God's plan in someone's life like a fortune teller would. This is the lack of authenticity that MacArthur was talking about when he said that the prophecy according to scriptures is 100% accurate. That should humble us. That should frighten and remind us that God is a holy God. Don't try to pick up a scepter that is not yours like what Loki tried to do with what belonged to Thor. Only Thor can pick up and use the Mjolnir(the hammer thing). To wrap up this point: eventually the misinformed person discipled by these masquerading wolves, become the wolves. The assembly line will never end till Christ returns. These, my friends, are the wolves. The sheep needs to be protected from these wolves. These wolves are still by God's mercy redeemable. Therefore, we are to protect the sheep from them, but at the same time, urging them to believe in the One that can heal their leopard spots.

The next few points are my resolutions.

Resolution #1) This point will anchor Argument #3 above. I had mentioned how God saves people and uses people despite poor theology, which I have to remind, are 'exception' cases. This point is more of a challenge to us charismatics and even non-charismatics. If you will imagine with me: What if we had good, healthy theology that treaded carefully, yet-boldly, in the realms of the gifts of the Spirit, desiring a 100% accuracy and integrity in lining up with Scriptures? The cases of exception as mentioned in #3 will slowly become a norm. There will be an army of real true Christians, believing in the real Jesus of the true gospel, which is Christ crucified. We would be a people that is always bowing low, yet living free because of the complete reliance on the righteousness of Christ. We would be a people who seek to be sanctified with a trajectory towards seeking the fruit of the Spirit more than the gift of the Spirit. At the same time, taking heed of what Paul said in Corinthians by "eagerly" desiring these gifts. This would mean, not centering our faith in our Christian walk based on the gifts but as we desire to be more like Christ, we seek scriptures as a manual in how we should be doing that.

This manual would tell us that we should spend more time with Him in scriptures and prayer. This manual would tell us that it is important to understand God's historical redemption and that we are not an accident. That we have been given the truth, and now we must share that truth with others(The Great Commission). In order to do that more effectively, seeking the gifts "eagerly" might be a worthy goal. These gifts are now: aiming at the heart of God, being centered on the gospel, and giving us our highest joy because God is most glorified in it.

Resolution #2) (For the scholarly, non-Charismatic) There is not much I can say here but I think it is safe to say that most of what John MacArthur said in his interview with Challies and in his new book is rich content. I think if you are a non-charismatic, keep being scholarly. It is commendable! But what is not commendable is to ignore the 'exception' cases I mentioned in argument #1 & #3. It is to ignore that these real experiences happen to real believers, those with good theology and with those saved-despite-their-theology folks. Being open-minded doesn't mean you are agreeing to add new revelation to Scripture but it means being humble enough to understand you haven't fully figured God out. Reformed Charismatics should join this fight with you guys to fight the horrible norms of the Charismatic culture but at the same time, you should journey with the reformed Charismatics in affirming my first argument in the beginning: that the Pentecostal experience is real and from God! There's more to be said here because it needs more convincing historically but I'll dabble on two quick points. 1) There's more historical proof than you think on the gifts after the apostles died. 2) MacArthur made a point during the conference that many great men of God in history before the 1900's, like Calvin, Luther, and Spurgeon never promoted the gifts. I really could make another case against this. A lot of the great men of God until the movement of the Anabaptists, also didn't have adult baptism as the sacrament but had paedobaptism for the longest time. So does that mean they(paedo crew) are right? The first few centuries endorsed Eucharist that is condemned in Protestant circles now. So does that mean they(catholics) were right at that time? It's a weak argument. So at that level, MacArthur needs to think through that a little bit more.

Resolution #3) (Mainly For the Reformed Charismatics but also for Pentecostals) John MacArthur does make great points to that: "any reformed continuationists (including Wayne Grudem) readily acknowledge that apostleship has ceased. So even they admit that one of the most significant elements listed in both 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 has passed away. So, at that level at least, they are cessationists." I do think that Grudem, Storms, and Piper may disagree with MacArthur at the verbiage, however, they still line up with what MacArthur is trying to say - at that level. As I would fall in this category of Reformed Charismatics, I have to seriously consider some of the strong indisputable points that MacArthur is making. He has really taken the pains to seek scriptures and make good arguments, which we shouldn't ignore. This doesn't mean that he is completely right about everything. But credit him where he is right and start re-calibrating where we need to re-calibrate concerning our theology on the gifts.

Final Resolution and Final Thoughts: This is more for the Pentecostal. I've been bought up in this circle so I feel right at home when I make these statements. Our experiences are real. They are from God! I agree with you brothers and sisters! But, we are in deep trouble. We have gone down a slippery slope and have built an empire of theology that has caused some of the greatest catastrophes of our time. This is part of why I am not a "Pentecostal".

We have built our theology on an experience, not allowing Scriptures to precede our experience. As a result, we have statement of beliefs like in the Assemblies Of God that states: speaking in tongues is an initial evidence of the manifestations of the gifts. This would exclude a lot of the Pentecostals today. Me and my wife, Blessy, believe in the gifts but tongues wasn't mine or her's initial gift. If you are like her or me, you are automatically not a classic Pentecostal. Argue all you want but you are not one! There is hope. This doesn't mean all the Pentecostal churches should close their doors and pack up. It means we need to re-calibrate. We need a reform in the Pentecostal church.

What if the Pentecostal church today can be re-rooted? This time in Scriptures. What if the Pentecostal church can still eagerly go after the gifts but this time, in the safeguards of Scriptures? What if we can remove from the Statement of Beliefs, that the initial gifts isn't tongues? This is not to attract more people. This is to stay true to biblical orthodoxy. I believe there is a future for Pentecostalism. I really do! I don't even think charismatics is good terminology for us reformed Charismatics. Everything should be under the umbrella of Pentecostals. Second wave and Third Wave theology is still the Pentecostal experience. But their separation is indicative of erroneous baggage of the Pentecostal movement that they didn't want to include. Once the Pentecostal church reforms, there needs to be a official write-up concerning Pentecostal dogma, a Pentecostal Catechism, etc, and all in unified agreement. This should keep the concerns out, the wolves out, and other dangerous groups like the 'prosperity theology' groups, catholic charismatics, and 'Oneness Pentecostals'. Like it or not, if this is not addressed, Pentecostalism will be the most confusing denomination this world has ever encountered in history. We have a chance to turn this around. There is a bright future for the Pentecostal church. A chance to prove to the world that this is biblically and legitimately, a real movement. To folks I have offended on here, I apologize. I promise it wasn't to hurt anyone but because I love the Church. We need to adhere to truths of God and re-examine what we believe. Pleasing God should be the highest priority. Among those that, after reading this, have identified themselves to be following a Jesus that is of a different gospel, you should reject that lie and turn to Christ. Know that his grace still extends to you. To folks I grew up within the Pentecostal world, I plead with you to think through some of what I have said here. I know I am not the final authority on any of this and I am human. I can be wrong about anything that I have said in here but that's the point. Let's start the discussion. It's way overdue!

#fall of pentecostalism #reformed charismatic #john macarthur #piper #wayne grudem #calvin #spurgeon #catholic charismatic #prosperity theology #oneness pentecostal #Jesus #Holy Spirit #gifts of the Spirit #Reform of the pentecostal church

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re-generated · 11 years ago

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The 'quiet' revival or the 'loud' revival?

There's much to say when talking about revival, which includes: 'The Great Awakening', true conversions, gospel-centered homiletic, etc. Sorry to disappoint but I will not be going down that path. This blog's purpose is not to give an exhaustive work on revival, but simply to point out certain generalizations attributed to revival and to examine our definitions of revival on the surface level. Recently, there was a video by Tim Keller, which mentions that "Revivals make churches quiet". I cheered aloud in my thoughts because I shared his sentiments, as I would imagine the many puritan-minded believers would too.

After my initial cheer, I began to think more about it. The more I pondered about revival, the more I became increasingly convinced that there are two aspects to revival. First one, is obviously as Tim Keller had mentioned, and what I would call, "The quiet revival." This revival has its precursors in repentance. And as a result, it outflows in the people of God responding to God with a contrite heart, which create zeal for holiness, and a radical perspective to live and die for the gospel. This is congruent with what Jonathan Edwards says in his 'Faithful Narratives', "Persons are first awakened with a sense of their miserable condition by nature, the danger they are in of perishing eternally, and that it is of great importance to them that they speedily escape, and get into a better state." This perspective is not highly emphasized - or may I say, valued - in communities today that talk about revival in the context of an emotional "fluff", as Keller had mentioned. However, I wouldn't be too conclusive about that. This leads to the second perspective. The second perspective on revival, is upheld by almost all Pentecostal churches that I know. There is always a revival meeting in the end of year, middle of the year, mid-week revivals, "special-speaker-coming-in-town" revival meetings, etc. They come with expectations...or maybe they don't! These days, revivals are done so much, that expectation is not there, but more of a ritual and programmed response. However, I'll go at the angle of the believer that is expectant. The non-Pentecostal tribe looks at this as a congregation that seeks some emotional experience. Experiences of singing an hour worth of songs that has repetitious lines, which would evoke a cascade of gifts, such as tongues, prophecy, and/or healing. Experience of the preacher preaching holiness, most of what might be moralistic-centered. Experiences of responding to the sermon with an ecstatic-but-drawn out worship! Now these are just two perspectives. The Pentecostal tribe will think the first perspective is kinda boring. The other evangelical tribes will think the second perspective is weird and somewhat, fake!

For a long time, I even agreed with these non-charismatic evangelical tribes, railing against the usual revivals in Pentecostal tribes. However, in recent thought, I have come to realize a different theological persuasion, which is driven by wanting to build bridges with people instead of railing against others who I don't line my theology with. My new position on revival would validate both the above mentioned perspectives. It is important for us to take heed to what Tim Keller said when it comes to "quiet" revivals. There is something quantifiable there, which gives substance to our experience. There has to be such a revival that brings about repentance, a call to walk in holiness, and to be mission-minded. At the same time, the second perspective is not as black and white as some of us reformed evangelicals might think. I recall when I used to go to those revivals. Many came with expectancy. Many responded to God through singing in declarations of praise. And especially after the sermon, there were times of conversions, wailing and crying to God for his power in our lives, repentance about our life of sin, and going back into worship to prove our zeal. Wait! That sounds biblical! It might be! I have realized that the Pentecostals just go about it in a different tone. It doesn't mean that their revival is invalid. However, I must say, that the norm for revival in the Pentecostals/extreme charismatic circles is still in the predicament of deception, false conversions, repentance that lacks integrity, and a worship that is hype-saturated - based on a lackadaisical lifestyle and the lack of bearing gospel-centered fruit. This needs to be fixed. But I think both revivals are valid and we need to incorporate both perspectives in a manner that is healthy and God-glorifying.

#revival #great awakening #jonathan edwards #faithful narratives #Tim Keller #Pentecostals #reformed #puritans #true conversions.

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re-generated · 12 years ago

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Speculation vs. Illumination - What was Edwards trying to say?

A few days ago, I had an interesting conversation with my father-in-law about true conversions. There was a deep concern that he had for many who profess to be Christians but their life reflect otherwise. He had talked to me about many who had been baptized without ever truly knowing Christ. Its actually very common! I, myself, remembered responding to the gospel, only 5 minutes before my baptism. But I had told everyone previously in the church that I was saved for 5-6 years. Thankfully I heard the full gospel that morning and was immediately convicted of my need for Jesus Christ as my savior. I am not here to debate baptism. I'm blogging concerning something more deep in the roots.

Knowing God and learning theology is not like learning/knowing other sciences or subjects. It deals with one’s heart. It is also taught by God himself by scriptures. Jonathan Edwards, one of the 'Great Awakening' preachers, said that there was a difference between natural religion and Christianity. Natural religion can infer many truths about God and religious duties, but is based on plain and general revelation. This can bring about an unpretentious lifestyle among those in natural religion. However, Christianity is not just information and duties. It is not self-evident. It is only evident by special revelation. God, himself, reveals his truth, which is Christ(Logos), through the Holy Ghost, breathing the gospel to whom He may will.

Scriptures reveal and provide all that we need to know about the triune God, our obligations, and our enjoyment in God. Scriptures provide everything we need in life and holiness today and the afterlife. Here is a slight comparison between speculation, which is of natural religion vs. spiritual, which can only lead to Christ.

We need to speculate to have a better spiritual understanding and for the Holy Spirit to have his way with us, when he wants and if he wants. How can one know the truth unless the truth is preached? We need to speculate in order that we may be illuminated. (God is not restricted to that but He chose to reveal himself through such channels.) It’s written in the Book of Romans that the letter kills, and the law puts a burden on us that we cannot bear.(2 Cor.3:6) Speculative knowledge without Special Revelation is of no purpose. We will continue to carry the condemnation that the law brings us unless we are illuminated and faith is gifted. Our eyes will then behold Christ, and him crucified. Our speculation suddenly because a mystery. A mystery that we cannot explain but only point to his grace. This grace takes away the burden of our condemnation because Christ chose to carry them for us. In exchange, he imputes his righteousness on us. "He, who knew no sin, became sin, that we may become the righteousness of God."(2 Corinthians 5:21) Christ, rightfully became the second Adam, reversing the chaos that the first Adam created. The crippled 'will', is no longer alive to us. But as we are awakened, our will is alive to Christ! Our will is new because of the new resident in our hearts, creating new righteous inclinations, giving us everything we need to make sure that the dead man never has a fighting chance at our soul! We are forever His. Only special revelation get us here. Illumination is revelation for the new man. Speculation is revelation for the dead man. Illumination is for those who are predestined to be in Christ - called according to his purpose, to be conformed to the image of his Son - making our calling, justification, and glorification sure!(Romans 8:28,29) Speculation as means to an end, is the deliberate choice of one to be blind-sided to their sin and reject the illumination.

Jonathan Edwards was on to something. He was concerned for the state of many in his congregation in New England during "The Great Awakening." If he was here right now, he would have the same concern for us all. So the question to the Christian is: Are you a “Christian” that has been truly illuminated or do you just live based on speculation? Are you bearing fruit? Do you enjoy God or do you enjoy sin? Do you despise sin only because of speculation or do you despise sin because the illumination of Christ caused a desire to hate it? I ask myself this question very often to check myself. If everything in this world was taken away including your friends, relationships, social media, iphones & trinkets, netflix and AMC’s, music and cars, would you still be fully content and enjoy God?(Not than any of the above is evil because I enjoy them all) When this life is over, there will be no more earthly entertainment, or sports, or hollywood, or relationships, or even earthly family relationships as we see now. They will all fade away and cease. It’ll just be you and the fellowship of the elect, worshiping God ALL THE TIME! NO BREAKS! It’ll be the Sunday that never ends...forever. To the illuminated, this is awesome. Their joy and desire is fully captivated by this outcome. For the speculative, this might seem troubling. Make your election sure. (2 Peter 1:10) Edwards was trying to tell us that there’s no higher joy, no greater satisfaction, no better excitement that will compare to what you will find in Christ. It’s a stream of endless joy and satisfaction. It’s not forced (speculative) but desired (illumination). If you don’t desire, you might have been speculating all along.

#Jonathan Edwards #speculation #illumination #true conversion

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