Desire To Live

There has been a deficiency of good preaching in the American pulpit. The lack of authority in our preaching today may be a result of the transition of preaching going from expository to topical sermons. Expository preaching just means to explain the text that the preacher is speaking from. You can contrast that with topical preaching, which tries to teach on a certain topic of the bible such as Faith using many passages of Scripture, rather than explain one text of Scripture at a time.

Another song from my collection, "Jump High"

A poem I found from my stash, "without You"

another song titled, "Do You know?"

As I was recently doing some organizing, I came upon some songs I had written. This one is titled "GRACE"

"Discernment is not created in God’s people by brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance. It is created by biblical truth and the application of truth by the power of the Holy Spirit to our hearts and minds. When that happens, then the brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance will have the strong fiber of the full counsel of God in them. They will be profoundly Christian and not merely religious and emotional and psychological. "

Hebrews 13:1Let brotherly love continue.

John Piper is on twitter? What is going on? I'll be honest, I never thought Piper would ever join the twitter bandwagon. The reason? He will not be able to say what he wants to in 140 characters. Well, I guess he is giving it a shot. Check out his reasoning behind it.

John Macarthur on the importance of preaching verse by verse through the bible.

"If I received five letters in the mail one day, it would make no sense to read a sentence or two out of one, skip two, read a few sentences out of another, and go to the next one and read a few out of that, and on and on. If I really want to comprehend the letter—what is going on, the tone, the spirit, the attitude, and the purpose—I must start from the beginning and go to the end of each one. If that is true of personal correspondence, I believe it is even more important when interpreting divine revelation."

2Timothy 3:16,17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

So someone got shot at my work yesterday. A 19-year old African-American male got shot in his arm when he left the arcade I work at. It happened in the parking lot. The gunman shot approximately 5-6 rounds. Only one bullet hit the victim. He was OK. It was an exhilarating 60 minutes at my work. So, I enjoy working there. Why you may ask? Because it keeps life in a real perspective for me. I get to socialize with people that get in real fights, have real abortions, and praise God when they experience life for real.

Sometimes I wonder if the churches we go to are real enough or not. Think about it. How real is your church? Does the church as a community live to save sinners from the world or do they live to make themselves as comfortable as possible? I've had the opportunity to share the gospel with many young adults at my work. They usually don't care about what I tell them right away. But, then something happens. A personal crisis, a relationship break-up, a financial problem, or they start fearing of what's after life because someone got shot at their work. After these events, they suddenly are open to a gospel they didn't much care about or are persuaded from previous testimony that this is truth. The incident itself does not bring their salvation, but God who justifies the ungodly. There is a godly grief, a desire to fully know God and his character. I saw this in one of the young African-American guys I've been sharing the gospel with. He had started reading his Bible for the first time the night before. He had brought his Bible with him to work for some odd reason. He was reading it at work after this shooting incident. Praise be to God that someone got shot because it may be a catalyst to save one lost soul.


2Co 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

This is an adaptation from an article from the Harvard Business Review about the three strengths that can be weaknesses for entrepreneurs. I am going to try to connect these three points to church planting, building a ministry, etc.

1. Persistence - A willingness to persevere is a great gift. Patience is definitely a virtue. We as Christians are called to persevere with the Church, persevere with our spouse, persevere with our salvation, and persevere in tough times, etc. However, perseverance can sometimes lead to stubbornness. When a desire to keep the same path overtakes the desire for maintaining truth, then it is time to give up your position. It is better to say you are wrong about a certain position and try to find a better position rather than stay the course and lose it all at the end.

2. Control - Early on in building a team, starting a church plant, or opening a business, you should try to control all the aspects of the operation. After all, someone needs to do all the hard work and it is your operation after all. However, after you develop the team, it is time to empower people with duties and responsibilities and it is time to delegate. As my pastor would say, it is time to stop micro-shepherding. Being a maniac about every detail is only going to frustrate your subordinates and it will be very counterproductive. You can see this evident in Christ's life. He came to shepherd his flock. First, he chose his disciples and went around preaching, but then you see him delegating his tasks to his disciples and empowering them with the Holy Spirit(gifts) so that they can continue to do the work even though he is not physically around. Of course they don't do it as perfectly as they should, but more work gets done in the long run.

3. Loyalty - Loyal friendships and close ties are essential to getting good results. In fact, it is one of the most desired traits in people joining up any kind of an operation. Especially in a church plant, loyalty is very key for it to develop and maintain as a whole. However, sometimes loyalty can cloud leaders' judgments. Whether it is to assess people with gifts they don't have or to give them a responsibility they cannot handle. Sometimes their opinions can also cloud your decision-making. It is the goal of a leader to assess each individual to see what gifts they possess and empower them to grow in those areas and not be blinded by loyalty.

The first two sermons from The Church In Dekalb. Pastor James Page. Check them out:



Kingdom of God is At Hand
Mark 1:14-15

04/12/2009

The mist was found

She was sitting right here

The rain drops fell

Made everything so clear

The doubt vanished

The mist disappeared

The water rose

My hope appeared

The future is coming

The past revealed

What happens tomorrow

Will stay concealed

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" James 4:14 

If I had a million dollars...
     I would buy 20,000 birds and release them one by one
If I had a million dollars...
     I would buy a large enough cannon to shoot me to the sun
If I had a million dollars...
     I would build the tallest and scariest roller coasters
If I had a million dollars...
     I would dry my tears after I wet a million posters
If I had a million dollars...
     I would have the largest fireworks show ever
If I had a million dollars...
     I would never want to see you again, no never 

1 Timothy 6:10

Freedom
1 Corinthians 6 says that all things are lawful as long you do it in moderation. 1 Timothy 4 says that all things God created is good if it is received with thanksgiving and prayer. Jesus says in Mark 7 states that it's not what goes into a man that makes him unclean but the evil that comes out from his heart that makes him unclean. Looking at these passages, I can try to understand the freedom we have in Christ. A little while ago I was told by someone interested in the Hookah study that they heard from someone else that it was a slacker Bible Study. Their source told them that we just hang out and smoke the hookah, and try to revolve a Bible study around that. I was confused as to why other Christians said stuff like this. Anyone who has ever come to a Hookah study knows that I spend hours on end to prepare for the Bible study and make it so that it is challenging to mature believers yet simple to newcomers and even appealing to non-christians. Most of us don't even smoke the hookah. I always told people that the Hookah study isn't for everybody, likewise a small group isn't for everybody either. But, I get concerned when people start gossiping about other Christians and how they want to get to know God. With that said, Paul says in Romans 14 that it is good not to eat meat or to drink wine which will cause your brother to stumble. We have to be careful and take that as a warning in not going overboard with anything. I have been trying to learn how to do this: have the freedom yet be reserved to not cause a brother to stumble. The answer comes in Romans 14:6,"...The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God." And correlating that passage with the 2Tim. passage, it can be seen that if we do something with thanksgiving and prayer and to honor God and not our self, we do it the right way.

Hypocricy
This brings us to hypocricy. I have seen so many friends who reject God because of the hypocricy that they saw within Christian circles. I personally couldn't stand Christianity at one point because of Christians saying one thing and then doing another. One of the strongest passages in the Bible is when Jesus taught saying that we should not look at the speck in another person's eye when we have a log in our own eye. Matthew 7:5, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." He calls these people hypocrites because they were too busy trying to fix everyone else before they fixed themselves. I heard a message reently in which the pastor said that we have to first be focused on changing ourselves, then on having an impact on our family, then our church (brothers and sisters in Christ), and then our land (mission field). We can't skip step 1 and go straight to step 3 or step 4 because that will bring out our hypocricy. Most of all, let God be the one guiding us, not our own motives.

To summarize, Jesus is my life. I go through rough times sometimes but I bounce back stronger. Prayer really helps, The Bible really helps, fellowship really helps. I became a Christian because God chose me and his call is irrevocable. It was a free gift from God. When I received this gift, I decided to give my life to following Christ and doing his work. I didn't want to be the one holding Christianity back but the one that progresses it. I want to be living my life like I am living to leave a legacy. That legacy will not be of me but of Jesus' name proclaimed among my friends, family, brothers and sisters, and people I've never met.

Love
Jesus tells us that the most important thing to remember is to love God and then to love everybody else. God is love. So whenever we show love to others, we display God. That is why it should be easier to talk to your friends about Christ. If someone loves you, they will love what you love. Love God and love them and they will reciprocate. I believe that if you love someone, you should love them 'til the end, because love is everlasting. So, I get peeved when I hear people say that they were in love with someone, but now aren't. There are three types of love: unconditional love, brotherly love, and romantic love. Love God unconditionally, love your family and friends with a brotherly love, and love your wife romantically. If you love more than one person romantically, ever, that's not true love because you are deviating from God's master plan for marriage. It might seem like love but it is just your lusts and passions getting in the way. Physical love before marriage always screws up the relationship. Take a lesson from Amnon and Tamar. He loved her but after he lay with her, he hated her more than he used to love her.

Afterlife
I believe in Heaven and Hell. I know the annihilationists believe that the unrighteous will be destroyed, and there is some biblical reasoning behind that (That is if you're a Jew). However, if you look at the whole of scriptures, it becomes clear that Hell is a real place where people will suffer for eternity. It is the due penalty for forsaking God. I'm not scared of dying anymore, because I am confident that there is waiting for me a crown of righteousness that Jesus will award to me one day. To me Heaven is not a place where I will get everything I hoped for on Earth but couldn't because of varying circumstances. Some Muslims, in the name of jihad (holy war), go and perform kamikaze missions because they believe that they will be rewarded in heaven with their earthly desires such as wealth, wives, etc. I believe that our reward in Heaven is Jesus himself. It brings joy to me to think of eating and drinking with Jesus one day. 

The next few days will be mighty hard to blog with my schedule so I will resume my blog on pastoral adultery when i return in a few days. For the mean time... I was looking over some past journaling and I came across someone asking me the question. "Why are you a Christian?" These following posts are my reply. I wrote this back in 2005, less than 2 years after I became a Christian.

Sin
I look at my life like a wall, where you can hang pictures and paint and such. After a while the wall starts having nail holes everywhere and is useless for future decorations. But, to me, the death and resurrection of Jesus signified a rebirth or washing, which made that wall new again. Jesus is the artist. He cleans up the mess every time. I feel very lucky that I found such a great friend to do that for me, as a free gift. And a good thing too, because God says that if I even have one hole in my wall, I won't be used for his work. That wall will be used to demonstrate God's glory, his work of art, and you better believe he won't start with a bad "canvas."

Religion
I'm not a big fan of religion. People who are Christians are people who believe in Christ's teaching, and follow what he says. So if someone asks me what religion I am, I tell them Christian. I have no shame in that. But, when that statement is followed by asking what denomination I am, I usually give a sigh. Why? well, I think everyone has to be a Christian on their own. Noone will be able to take you to heaven with them. I don't want to leave my eternal life in the hands of a denomination. My denomination is reading my Bible. Because after all, a denomination is just a group telling you what you should believe based on their interpretations of the Bible. And, since we're lazy, and don't want to, or don't make the time to read the Bible and learn for ourselves, we join a denomination (not that it is bad to join one, but them being your sole bible interpreters is bad). You can certainly still go to a certain denominational church, but your view should be different, even if it is very little, from the denominational view that reared you. Why? because no denomination has it all right and I want to try to get as close to the truth as possible. 

Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Mat 3:1-3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'"

John 1:14,15 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'")

The prophet Isaiah is clear that the one preparing the way for the Lord is John the baptist. John the baptist prepares the way for Jesus. John the baptist is either preparing the way for one God or he is preparing the way for multiple gods not mentioned in Scripture. If therefore we believe in the sufficiency of Scripture and also that God is one, Jesus must be God.

So I know, I like to make fun of Joel Osteen. Yes, he's got horrible theology and sometimes he just outrightly makes me laugh out loud at the things he says. He's not a perfect man, and neither are we, so we shuld pray for him. I was just noticing his book titles and I can already see the progress. His first book was titled, "Your Best Life Now" and his second book is title, "Become a Better You." How can you become better if you already were the best? I see a downsizing in his view of self in relation to God. The following are just optimistic guesses on how he could progress on this view of God and also on his future book titles.

His first book title: "Your Best Life Now: 7 steps to living at your full potential"
His second book title: "Become a Better you: 7 keys to improving your life every day"

Suggested third book title: "You can do OK: 7 goals to stay exactly where you're at"
Suggested fourth book: "You're not all that bad: 7 methods to not get worse"
Suggested fifth book: "Being positively bad: 7 models of good and bad people"
Suggested sixth book: "You are totally depraved: 7 ways I've been wrong about God"

The Immolation of Isaac
Genesis 22: 1-19

Faith must be tested (1 Cor. 3:13; 2 Cor. 2:9; 2 Cor. 13:5)

v. 1 - God tested Abraham
God does not tempt anyone into sin or evil
God tests so that he can strengthen

Faith must be persevering (James 1:12; 2 Tim. 4:7)

v. 4 - On the third day
Slow climb to the hill. There was plenty of time for Satan to convince Abraham to turn back. His faith was a persevering faith, not a quick adrenaline passion.

v. 5 - Go over there and worship
Worship is a solemn act of devotion which God requires, even if it is the sacrifice of your son.

Faith must not doubt the impossible

v. 5 - And come again to you
Most profound statement in this passage. The faith of Abraham was tested so that his old faith was competing with his new faith. It could seem that God was contradicting himself. On the one side, God had made a promise that through his offspring, there will arise a great nation (Gen 21:12). So by following God’s command, he was faithful, since he did not know what God was trying to do, but he did it anyway. He had faith that either God will provide a way out of death or God would raise his son up from the dead

(Hebrews 11:17-19) By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

v. 6 - laid it on Isaac his son – Isaac had to carry the wood up the mountain. Isaac being a type of the Christ, carries the wood up to the mountain top just as Christ carried the cross to Calvary.

Faith is assurance (Heb. 11:1, 2)

v. 8 - God will provide for himself the lamb
Abraham knew that God would not lie
Abraham knew that God would keep his promise
Abraham knew God would bring Isaac back to him
Abraham knew God couldn’t contradict himself

v. 9 - Bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood
Isaac did not resist, though he perhaps could have.
Representative of Christ being laid on the cross and being silent.

v. 10 - Took the knife to slaughter his son
God waited until the last minute to rescue Isaac.

v. 11 - But the angel of the LORD
Jesus Christ himself, revealed in v. 16 and Heb 6:13 (by myself have I sworn)

v. 12 - Seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me
Rom. 8:32 - He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Faith leads to hope (Heb. 6: 13-20)

v. 13 - Behind him was a ram
The ram was not Abraham’s, it was provided by God.
The ram came in an uncommon way.
The ram appeared at the perfect time.
The ram died as a substitution.

v. 14 - “The LORD will provide” – Jehovah Jireh
Abraham did not name the mount after his trial, but after God’s faithfulness

Faith results in blessing, through Christ (Gal. 3:16)

v. 18 - in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed

What did Abraham do to be blessed?

Would the actual act of killing his son result in an increase of faith on abraham's behalf?
We must say No. The inward surrender results in the completion of faith . Blessing comes through obedience. Blessing comes through faith and not works, through the person of Jesus Christ.

excerpt from John Piper Sermon - 05-03-1998 - Romans 1:1-4

"The gospel is about God. It's God's gospel. God is eternal, God is infinite, God is glorious, God is THE reality in the universe. And he has a Son who has always existed, who has never come into being, but has always been eternally begotten by the Father's imaging forth of himself. These magnificent unspeakably great, weighty realities are in the gospel. We must let it rest upon us. Unless we become a trivial people, a flippant people. I've been in meetings recently, where I've just groaned that leaders feel they always have to be funny. They always have to be funny. They might be inaugurating something, they could be introducing a weghty topic, they might be thanking someone for long periods of service, and they just constantly have to tell jokes. It's so sad! The gospel is a glorious and weighty thing. Slapstick and gospel don't blend!"

Laurent de LaHire: Abraham Sacrificing Isaac 1650

Great article On Maintaining Unity among Differences by John Piper:
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2009/3819_What_I_Said_to_the_Pastoral_Staff_About_Unity_Amid_Differences/

On an aside, I was placed on to the Band of Bloggers Directory: http://bandofbloggers.org/bob-directory/

Gospel Coalition 2009 audio and video are now available online. I would highly recommend the sermons from Piper, Carson, and Keller. The rest are good too and you can find them using the link below.

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/conferences/2009#t=schedule

So I am very particular of thinking about the song lyrics as I sing the song. Well, yesterday I was at the Gospel Coalition and the song, "Come Thou Fount" was sung. Well, the beginning of the second verse stopped my singing. The lyrics said,

"Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
Hither by thy help I come.
And I hope by thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home"

What the heck does that mean? The only thing that popped into my head was Ebenezer Scrooge, and I didn't recognize that name from the Bible at all. So who's Ebenezer and how is he helping me to come. So as I am a peculiar person and must know what I sing, I had to look it up. So here's what I found out.Well, there is a passage in the Bible that sheds some light on what Ebenezer is.

1Sa 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.

Ebenezer is a place in Palestine. The Hebrew word used to translate this word literally means, "a stone of the help." That is why it says that the place was called Ebenezer because the Lord, the cornerstone, the solid rock, helped them there. The philistines had captured the ark, and God's judgment was on them. It killed a whole lot of people. Finally the Philistines sent the ark out, up to the house of Aminadab. However, The Israelites, with the help of the Lord were able to take back their land. To remind themselves of how the Lord helped them get their land back, they put up this stone, perhaps a pillar to commemorate this place.

So, when it says to 'raise mine ebenezer', the hymn writer is saying that it means that we are raising our stone of help, which is the Lord Jesus, to help us overcome our enemy. Now I can sing this song peacefully, knowing that I am singing about my Lord and not about a cartoon duck that was stingy with his money.

So, I go the chance to go to my first Gospel Coalition. It was amazing. Beyond amazing. I think I heard one of the best John Piper sermons. Tim Keller, Phil Ryken, and Mark Driscoll also preached and they did a great job, overall. I wanted to post the sermon outlines for some of these sermons that i found online. The actual sermons should be up for a download in a few days.

Tim Keller's Sermon Outline:
The Grand Demythologizer: The Gospel and Idolatry (Acts 19:21-41)
http://theresurgence.com/gospel_coalition_2009_keller_notes

John Piper's Sermon Manuscript:
Unashamed Courage in the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:1-12)
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByConference/35/3837_Feed_the_Flame_of_Gods_Gift/

Mark Driscoll sermon Outline:
Positives, Negatives, and Neutrals
http://theresurgence.com/gospel_coalition_2009_driscoll_outline

This was the first time I had a chance to hear any of these guys preach live, though between the 4 of them, I have heard hundreds of sermons through podcasts, vodcasts, and feeds. It seemed that Piper came ready today, he was on fire! When he did his opening prayer, I was literally in tears. First time I've ever cried over a public prayer. Powerful stuff. Also, he did not disappoint in teaching the text. I've studied 1 & 2 Timothy extensively for 6 months and he blew me away by his teaching. Keller's sermon was also very insightful. Well worth taking the time to watch.

In Jonathan Edwards' great discourse, 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God', he writes, "The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours...And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into Hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up."

Now, this is a solemn warning, but where's the good news? If a non-believer were to ask you to show them the gospel in this sermon, where would you find it?

Joh 10:28-29 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. (KJV)

For the believer, there is a whole lot of good news in this passage. Yes the unrepentant sinner is awaiting God's judgment and wrath, but for the believer there is a comfort in knowing that God holds you tight in his hand. In fact, in this passage, it states that not only is the person of Christ holding you, but the Father is holding you too. You are protected by the triune God. Some think that Edwards was saying that God is holding every person over the fires of Hell, hanging by a slender thread. However, this is not what Edwards intends to portray. He is not saying that the believer has anything to worry about regarding the Hell fire. We know this because Edwards makes it very clear in his sermon that this is the state of the person who has not believed in the Lord Jesus:

"Consider this, you that are here present, that yet remain in an unregenerate state"
"Thus it will be with you that are in an unconverted state"
"But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not yet been born again"
"Those of you that finally continue in a natural condition"
"And let every one that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over te pit of Hell


God holds the believer in a tight fist. How much confort is there in knowing that no one can snatch us out of the hands of our God. We are saints in the hands of a merciful God. I love the KJV translation since it uses the word 'pluck' instead of 'snatch.' Now the question we ask is, "Who can pluck us out of His hands?' and we must reply along with Marcus Gray, "Not even the Professional Plucker, who plucks for life, to pluck the unpluckable."

Col 3:1-4 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.


There is a mysterious nature to salvation. When a man becomes a believer, which is, that he truly believes in faith that Jesus Christ died for his sins and redeemed him from the curse of the law and saved him from the wrath of God, there is a change that is experienced in his heart. But, his flesh nature wars with his mind trying to reason with the new believer that since he cannot physically see Christ or the redemptive work that Christ has done for him, he should indeed start doubting, which leads many to unbelief.

Now what is the remedy for a young believer? How can he be convinced that he is in Christ and that Christ is working in him?

First, he must set his mind on holy things, rather than wordly things. This is a good time to focus on how they look like the world, and then try not to look like that.For with your regeneration, your old self has been put to death. A new convert must believe that this has been done on the cross. Furthermore, he must believe that he has a new life due to the resurrection of Christ.

Second, the young Christian must believe that his faith is secure in Christ. Christ hides the believer's life. That is, He holds your eternal destiny, not the believer himself. He hides it from you since you are not good enough, pure enough, strong enough, or righteous enough on your own to protect this new life. Christ has to do what the child cannot do on his own.

Finally, the believer must believe that Christ is his life. This is a profound statement. This sentence should bring one to his knees when he realizes the vast blessing of Christ, to save such a wretched sinner such as him. What Paul is saying is that your life is dead, you have no life of your own to even bring to God. Your new life is not your own, but Christ's. He purchased that new life on the cross. Your righteousness is solely based on Christ and him alone. What a blessed hope that Christ holds your new life and that he will give you the new life when you appear with him in glory.

Andrew Murray writes, "Christ Himself is your life and your power of life. Yet, because this mighty life is not visible or cannot be felt, but works in the midst of human weakness, the young Christian often becomes of doubtful mind. He then fails to believe that he shall grow with Divine power and certainty. He does not understand that the believing life is a life of faith whereby he reckons on the life that is in Christ for him, although he neither sees, feels, nor experiences anything. "

Christ is your new life. Christ does all the redemptive work. He is the gardener, you are the plant. He protects you with his faithfulness. He plants you, he feeds you, he waters you, and he even grows you. All you have to do is believe.

Christian rapper Lecrae Moore tag-teamed with Desiring God to make this music video for his song, 'Don't waste your life', from his 'Rebel' album. (Lyrics below)




[Verse 1: LeCrae]
I know a lot of people out there scared they gonnna die
couple of them thinking they'll be living in the sky
but while Im here living man I gotta ask why
what am here for I gotta figure out, waste my life?
no I gotta make it count
if Christ is real then what am I gonna do about
all of the things in Luke 12:15 down to 21 you really oughta go and check it out
Paul said if Christ aint resurrected then we wasted our lives
well that implies that our life's built around Jesus being alive
everyday I'm living trying to show the world why
Christ is more than everything you'll ever try
better than pretty women and sinning and living
to get a minute of any women and men that you admire aint no lie
We created for Him outta the dust he made us for Him
Elects us and he saves us for Him Jesus comes and raises for Him
Magnify the Father why bother with something lesser
he made us so we could bless Him and to the world we confess him
resurrects him so I know I got life matter of fact better man I know I got Christ
if you don't' see His ways in my days and nights
you can hit my brakes you can stop my lights
man I lost my rights I lost my life
forget the money cars and toss that ice
the cost is Christ
and they could never offer me anything on the planet that'll cost that price


[Verse 2: Dwayne Tryumph]
Armed and dangerous
So the devil jus can't handle us
Christian youth them a stand with us
Livin' n driven/ given a vision/ fullfilling the commission he handed us
London to Los Angeles
The rap evangelist
My daddy wouldn't abandon us
"I gotta back pack fulla tracts plus I keep a Johnny Mac"
So are you ready to jam with us
So lets go, gimme the word an lets go
Persecution lets go, Tribulation lets go
Across the nation lets go, Procrastination best go
Hung on the cross in the cold, Died for the young and the old
Can't say you never know, Heaven knows
How many souls are going to hell or to heaven so we gotta go in and get em
Whaaaaat!

[Verse 3: LeCrae]
Suffer Yeah do it for Christ if you trying to figure what to do with your life
if you making money hope you doing it right
because the money is Gods you better steward it right
stay focused if you aint got no ride
your life aint wrapped up in what you drive
the clothes you wear the job you work
the color your skin no we Christian first
people living life for a job make a lil money start living for a car
get em a house a wife kids and a dog when they retire they living high on the hog
but guess what they didn't ever really live at all to live is Christ yeah that's Paul I recall
to die is gain so for Christ we give it all he's the treasure you'll find in the mall
Your money your singleness marriage talent and time
they were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
that's why it's Christ in my rhymes That's why it's Christ all the time
my whole world is built around him He's the life in my lines
I refused to waste my life he's too true to chase that ice
heres my gifts and time cause I'm constantly trying to be used to praise the Christ
If he's truly raised to life then this news should change your life
and by his grace you can put your faith in place that rules your days and nights

1Co 2:5 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

When we talk about people getting converted, we must realize that they are getting saved because of the Word that is being preached. No one is getting saved by your cool clothes or your hip hair. This might seem like an obvious statement, but Christians have diverted very far from this truth. They have traded in the power of God in preaching and teaching into cheap cliches and trivial anecdotes. Now it's not being said that a man cannot wear clothes so as to not look uniquely different from his surrounding, yet at the same time, one must be careful not to be the leader of fashion in their surrounding. We are not called to be kings of cool, but slaves of Christ.

Why is that Jehovah's Witness and Mormonism are increasing their membership at a rapid rate? Well, to begin they actually go out and share the Word that they have been taught. Now if such paltry religions, with horrible theological thought, and distasteful dissemination of literature is gaining members, how come the orthodox church is falling behind? Because they have forgotten the gospel that was entrusted to them. They believe that a man can be converted with cheap surveys and cheap throw-away prayers.

Let's contemplate the grace that we have been given and let's be faithful to our calls as ministers of the Word. Let us not preach a strong word in the morning and then at night act like we have no clue of what it means that our God is sovereign.

"We have known men who believed Calvinistic doctrines, but who preached Calvinism in the morning and Arminianism in the evening, because they were afraid God's gospel would not convert sinners, so they would manufacture one of their own. I hold that a man who does not believe his gospel to be able to save men's souls, does not believe it at all. If God's truth will not save men's souls, man's lies cannot." ~ Charles Spurgeon

Neh 13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.

There is a fascinating narrative of Solomon in 1 Kings 11:1-11 that is mind-boggling. Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel, and the author of three Scriptural books, is scolded by God for his adulterous and idolatrous lifestyle.

The cause of his fall? Foreign women. You see, Solomon was a hobbyist. He liked to collect women. The Scripture says that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. A 1000 women total! The question now must not be why he fell, but why didn't he fall a long time ago? Today, when a man even contemplates another woman, he is considered an adulterer and immoral. The qualifications of an elder is that he be a one woman man. Solomon definitely would not have qualified for the eldership of any good church these days.

Furthermore, he not only married women, but towards the latter part of his life, he also decided to give in to their pagan gods. He built pagan altars for their gods and the Scripture says that he outrightly went after them, making him a severe lawbreaker and deserving death.

How is it then that this man is spared? How is it that Nadab & Abihu are killed for creating strange fire, Uzzah is killed for touching the ark of the covenant, Ananias & Sapphira are killed for lying and here is a man who committed adultery and idolatry to the maximum extent and it seems that he was given a chance to repent (Ecclesiastes 12:13). The answer?

Covenant Love.

It says in our passage that he was 'beloved by his God'. Though he was severely punished, and his kingdom was broken, he was spared in the end to show the love of God for his elect. God has made a covenant with his children. Even if they do not always follow him rightly, he always brings them back. Those who he does not bring back, therefore, were never his children.
1 john 4:19 - We love because he first loved us. . Is your relationship with God based on a covenant or on what feels right to you? Is your love for God based on a true faith or based on your current disposition? Is your commitment, 'til death do us part', or are you around just for the better, but you leave when it gets worse?

So this week, I taught on the topic of Biblical Authority. This is a summary of the main part of the study. My text was from the Gospel of John 7:14-24 (Full text below). From this text, we can see that authority is derived as much as submission is yielded. So how does one receive Biblical Authority?

1. Submit to God’s authority – Listen to God through prayer and meditation. God is the beginning and source of authority.

2. Submit to the authority of Scripture – Have knowledge of the Word. This is where we receive authority to teach and the power to act on the teaching. (The Greek word used for 'authority', many times is translated 'power')

Sometimes, people think they have Scriptural authority because they read the Bible. This is not true. If you do not have the faith to discern and interpret the text properly, you will receive no authority from it. Jesus says in Matt 22:29, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God."

3. Submit to the Spirit, not the flesh – Be selfless, not seeking your own glory, but seek God's glory. Most teachers have an ego and a thirst for riches that choke out any thirst for the glory of God. Most men want to be exulted, they want to be famous, they want men to like them. We must not yield to the temptations of our flesh.

4. Submit to God’s law – Be a doer of the Word, not just a hearer. Why would anyone want to receive our gospel, if we do not back up our gospel with good works. Faith without works is dead. This is not to say that our works merits us any justificative benefits, however, it is by our 'doing of the Word' that people will want to be hearers of the Word.

5. Submit to Jesus Christ – Learn to lead in love & sacrifice. He deserves to be submitted to because he was a perfect example for us. He humbled himself, took the form of man, and died shamefully on a cross so that he can rescue his sheep. The good shepherd laid down his life for his sheep. If we want to be authoritative in our preaching, teaching, or doing, it must yield from a heart that conforms to the image and character of Christ.

6.Submit to men instituted by God– Listen and learn from those that labor among you. Students are to submit to your teachers. Children are to submit to their parents. Slaves are to submit to their masters. Wives are called to submit to their husbands. Finally, we are all called to submit to our governing authorities. Of course, none of this submission should be done if they are leading you to sin, since you have a higher authority in God.

Romans 13:1,2 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

We must learn to be a submissive community, a submissive group, and look at the cross of Christ for our example. Many want to be teachers of the Word, many want to see great power in their ministry, they want to see huge revivals, they want to leave great legacies. However, I see so very little submission. I see very little bowing of the knee, very little turning of the cheek, very little tears.



John 7:14-24 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?" The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?" Jesus answered them, "I did one work, and you all marvel at it. Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."

"...the public reading of the abstruser parts of Scripture is of exceedingly little use to the majority of the people listening. I can recollect hearing in my younger days long passages out of Daniel, which might have been exceedingly instructive to me if I had obtained the remotest conception of what they meant. Take again, parts of the prophecy of Ezekiel, and ask yourselves what profit can arise from their perusal by the illiterate, "unless some man shall guide them"? What more edification can come from a chapter in English which is not understood than from the same passage in Hebrew or Greek? The same argument which enforces translation demands exposition. If but a few explanatory words are thrown in by a judicious reader, it is wonderful how luminous obscure portions may be made. Two or three sentences will often reveal the drift of a whole chapter; the key of a great difficulty may be presented to the hearer in half a score words, and thus the public reading may be made abundantly profitable."

So I just found out that I can blog straight from my iPod Touch. I am
really trying to get in the groove of blogging. I think the best
option for me is to publish short blogs rather than write huge blogs
that take a long time to think about.