Pray without ceasing…Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…"And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him?" (1 Thessalonians 5:17 and Luke 18:1, 7)
Hoekstra writes, "Praying without ceasing is the way to relate rightly to the God of all grace. Jesus called His followers to live in this prayerful manner when He told a parable that contrasted a godless human judge with God, our righteous judge.
The primary message of this parable would be that men should persistently pray at all times. "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart." Jesus used the illustration of a wronged widow who was appealing for help from an unjust judge. At first, the judge had no interest in assisting her. However, when she persisted, he relented and gave her relief. "Though I do not fear God nor regard man, because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me" (Luke 18:4-5). The ungodly judge granted her relief, although he was not motivated by fear of God nor by compassion for man. His action was merely self-serving. Jesus then contrasts this to the holy motivations of our loving God, who responds to the needs of His children, as they call upon His name. "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him?" (Luke 18:7). The Lord Jesus hereby encourages us to pray without ceasing.
Jesus' own life was an example of praying persistently. At times, Jesus was up before dawn for extended prayer with the Father. "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (Mark 1:35). On another occasion, He prayed the entire night through. "Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12). In addition to His rich private prayer life, Jesus prayed regularly in public as well. "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes…Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them… Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me" (Matthew 11:25; Luke 9:16; and John 11:41-42). If Jesus, the Son of God prayed habitually, how clearly we are to do the same.
Jesus, my Lord, I want to heed Your radical call to a path of unceasing prayer. I want to follow Your wonderful example of a life of habitual prayer—in private and in public. Lord, stir my heart to such prayer, by Your empowering grace, Amen."
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Our Community
Church at the Park invited friends, family and strangers to be our guest on Sunday, October 31st at 10:30am. We hosted a Family, Friends, and Fellowship day over lunch with FREE fun and games at Frankie's Fun Park in Raleigh. We just simply wanted to fellowship and have fun with you and your children! We also wanted to share our heart for the future of our church and see how we can be of service to our community. Here are monumental pictures of this event.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Walking by Faith, Not by Sight
We walk by faith, not by sight…while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. (2 Corinthians 5:7 and 4:18)
The Christian life is a walk. It is comprised of day by day steps from where we are to where the Lord wants us to go (both spiritually and geographically). This walk is undertaken by faith, not by sight. "We walk by faith, not by sight."
Walking by sight is the natural manner by which human beings walk. This is true both for literal walking, as well as for taking the proverbial journey through life. When engaged in physical walking, people rely upon visual data (along with input from other human senses, like sound, smell, and touch). Likewise, as the unredeemed are engaged in their trek through life, they set their course and proceed by that which their natural abilities provide. We who know the Lord Jesus Christ cannot walk in this manner in His kingdom. We must walk by faith, by depending upon our Lord, His word, and the work of grace by His Holy Spirit. Spiritual progress is made "while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen."
So often, things are not as they appear to be in the natural. Consider Joseph being sold to slave traders by his jealous and deceitful brothers. It did not look like Joseph was being groomed to be Prime Minister in Egypt. Think of Pharoah and his army closing in on Israel, as they were trapped beside the Red Sea. It did not look like Israel would be delivered and the Egyptian army would be destroyed. Remember young David standing before gigantic Goliath. It did not look like the giant would be defeated and David would enjoy a thorough victory. Only eyes of faith could really appreciate what was actually happening.
The cross of our Lord Jesus is undoubtedly the greatest example of things not always being what they appear to be. As Jesus hung upon the cross, it appeared that godless men had defeated the most godly man that ever lived. "Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst…Him…strong>you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death" (Acts 2:22-23). Yet, in fact, God was at work, preparing a resurrection victory over sin and death for all who would believe. "Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it" (Acts 2:24).
Heavenly Father, I want to walk with You by faith. I desire to respond to the circumstances of life by what You have said in Your word and by what You are able to do. Too many times, I have set my course by sight, relying upon the appearance of things. Teach me to trust in You more and more, in Jesus' name, Amen.
The Christian life is a walk. It is comprised of day by day steps from where we are to where the Lord wants us to go (both spiritually and geographically). This walk is undertaken by faith, not by sight. "We walk by faith, not by sight."
Walking by sight is the natural manner by which human beings walk. This is true both for literal walking, as well as for taking the proverbial journey through life. When engaged in physical walking, people rely upon visual data (along with input from other human senses, like sound, smell, and touch). Likewise, as the unredeemed are engaged in their trek through life, they set their course and proceed by that which their natural abilities provide. We who know the Lord Jesus Christ cannot walk in this manner in His kingdom. We must walk by faith, by depending upon our Lord, His word, and the work of grace by His Holy Spirit. Spiritual progress is made "while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen."
So often, things are not as they appear to be in the natural. Consider Joseph being sold to slave traders by his jealous and deceitful brothers. It did not look like Joseph was being groomed to be Prime Minister in Egypt. Think of Pharoah and his army closing in on Israel, as they were trapped beside the Red Sea. It did not look like Israel would be delivered and the Egyptian army would be destroyed. Remember young David standing before gigantic Goliath. It did not look like the giant would be defeated and David would enjoy a thorough victory. Only eyes of faith could really appreciate what was actually happening.
The cross of our Lord Jesus is undoubtedly the greatest example of things not always being what they appear to be. As Jesus hung upon the cross, it appeared that godless men had defeated the most godly man that ever lived. "Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst…Him…strong>you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death" (Acts 2:22-23). Yet, in fact, God was at work, preparing a resurrection victory over sin and death for all who would believe. "Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it" (Acts 2:24).
Heavenly Father, I want to walk with You by faith. I desire to respond to the circumstances of life by what You have said in Your word and by what You are able to do. Too many times, I have set my course by sight, relying upon the appearance of things. Teach me to trust in You more and more, in Jesus' name, Amen.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Why We Should Love One Another
Introduction
A. The Unfulfilled Love of the World
I am amazed at how much of secular music deals with the subject of love. However, the love expressed in those songs is basically unfulfilled. There seems to be a lostness--a love that never has any ultimate meaning. Compare that with divine love. The only conclusion is that human love is unfulfilled. At its best, it's imperfect.
Philosopher Jean Paul Sartre wrote a novel entitled Nausea. In it Roquentin, his main character, is trying to find the meaning of life. He looks in many places, and decides to give love a try. But all he knows is mechanical and meaningless sex. He concludes that man is egoistic and loves only to enslave his lover. Roquentin is so unfulfilled in love that the nausea of life becomes overwhelming to him. He says he contemplated killing himself in order to remove one more superfluous life.
B. The Fulfilled Love of Christianity
People long for a love that is perfect, complete, and fulfilling. First John 4 is the record of that kind of love. Verse 12 says, "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." Verse 17 says, "Herein is our love made perfect." Verse 18 says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear." Perfect love is available to men.
The New Testament uses many adjectives to describe the love of God: brotherly, unfeigned, believing, serving, abounding, forgiving, comforting, laboring love. But the greatest description is perfect love.
1. Regarded as perfect
What does John mean when he says love is perfect? In English we think of something that has no flaws. But the Greek word teleio[ma]o refers to something that is fulfilled. It means "completion" or "wholeness." When Jesus was on the cross, He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30). He used a form of the same word. He finished the work God had committed to Him. John uses the word in the perfect passive, denoting the completeness of love in the life of an individual. There is available a love that is whole--a love that is the best it can possibly be in the human realm. It is not necessarily flawless in this life because we bring in flaws as a result of our humanness. Romans 5:5 says, "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts." God has committed His love to us.
2. Realized in obedience
God's love realizes its perfection in us only when we obey the Word of God.
a) 1 John 2:5--"Whosoever keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected." The obedient individual realizes the fullness of all that God's love means.
b) 1 John 5:3--"This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." Fulfilling love is not sentiment or mystical experience; it is contingent upon moral obedience.
The workings of perfect love are detailed in 1 John 4:7-21. That is John's third and last discussion of love in his letter. His two previous discussions were in 1 John 2:7-11 and 3:10-14. Love is the soul- searching, moral test of true Christianity. When someone claims to be a Christian, John says we're to find out if he loves his brothers and sisters in Christ.
First John 4:7 is the key to the passage: "Beloved, let us love one another." Verse 12 says, "If we love one another." And verse 21 closes the passage: "This commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also." The beginning, middle, and ending of this passage deal with loving one another. The first word in verse 7 is "beloved" (Gk., agapetoi, `divinely loved ones'). John is saying, "Since God loves you, let us love one another." That is one more use of the present tense to denote habitual action. Christians are to habitually love one another. Now when the Word of God says something once, it's divine truth. When it says something twice, that means it's very important. But when the Word of God says the same thing over and over, we'd better pay particular attention. God repeats the theme of love so much because we can easily forget to love. We need to be reminded to have a perfect, complete, and fulfilled love for one another. John gives several reasons for loving one another.
I. LOVE IS THE ESSENCE OF GOD (vv. 7-8)
A. Present in His Children (v. 7)
"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."
We ought to love one another because love is a characteristic of God. Since we are God's children, we should reflect the character of our Father. Those of you with children may have had someone say to you, "Your kids are exactly like you." A child will take on the traits of his parents, both from the standpoint of heredity and environment. We are born of God--that's our heredity--and we have experienced His presence in our lives--our environment. God's people are to bear His reflection.
Change Your Name or Change Your Behavior
There is a story about a soldier in the army of Alexander the Great. It seems he had misbehaved. As he came before the judgment seat, the presiding judge asked him his name. He said, "It is Alexander, the same as Alexander the Great." The judge replied, "Change your name or change your behavior." Do you name the name of Christ? If so, you ought to act like Him. Otherwise you bring reproach on His name. If we are the children of God, we should manifest His love. Everyone who habitually loves gives evidence of being born of God. Since love has God as its source, those who display that love give evidence of being born of God.
The phrase "everyone that loveth is born of God" (v. 7) should be rendered, "everyone that loveth has been begotten of God." That is a past action with continuous results. Remember, John is attacking the heretical teaching of the Gnostics. In verse 7 John points out that it isn't those who claim to know God who are true, but those who love that give evidence of being born of God.
B. Absent from His Enemies (v. 8)
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
It doesn't matter what someone claims--if he doesn't love, he doesn't know God. The Gnostics knew a lot of speculative theology and had a superficial knowledge of Scripture, but they didn't know God because they didn't love others. They had so elevated themselves by their intellectual attainments that they had contempt for everyone who supposedly knew less than they did. They were the opposite of love.
1. The cooperation of God's love
God is love itself, however love does not define God; God defines love. All God's activities are expressed in love because all His attributes work in cooperation. Even in judgment God's love shines through. To prove that ask yourself: Where is God's judgment the most demonstrative? At the cross. He poured out His wrath on His own Son as the punishment for sin. But where is God's love displayed most? At the cross. God's justice and love operate together.
That God is love explains the following:
a) Creation
Why would God create a world that brings Him so much trouble? Because God is love, and love does not exist in isolation.
b) Volition
God gave man volition because a love relationship necessitates the ability to choose.
c) Providence
Since God is love, His creative act was followed by His constant care. His love sustains and upholds the world. He makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45).
d) Redemption
If God cared only about the law, He would leave man to the consequences of his sin. But because God is love, He seeks to save. Love provides a remedy.
e) Eternal life
Why will believers be in heaven forever? Because God loves you and wants you to be there with Him.
It Can Be Hard to Believe God Is Love
Some people find it hard to believe that God is love. They say, "If God is a God of love, how can He allow so much injustice in the world?" The backcover of John Wenham's book The Goodness of God (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP, 1974), reads as follows: "Look at the world around us: History is a long tale of man's inhumanity to man. Spain had its Inquisition, Britain its Atlantic slave trade, Germany its gas chambers, Russia its Siberian labor camps, the United States its Indian reservations. And the world is still swept by fear and lust, greed and racial tension.
"Nature too seems twisted. Babies are born deformed. They inherit diseases and tendencies to insanity. Ours is a world of preying animals, parasites, viruses and bacteria.
"The Bible itself even raises the question. It records tyranny, cruelty, mutilation--eyes gouged out, hands lopped off--deceit, licentiousness, war. Not only war but God-sent war. Assyria, one of the cruelest nations of history is called the rod of God's anger."
Wenham writes, "Easy answers could not possibly be right .... we [must] realize that we are children, that we are fools, that we are at heart conceited, stiff-necked rebels, who will get everything wrong, unless we are prepared to give up telling God what he should like and what he should do" (p. 10).
Objectors simply tell us what sin has done, not what God has done. People ask "If God is a God of love, why doesn't He stop all the wars?" The obvious answer is He didn't start them. The Word of God says God is love. I believe it. All you have to do to prove it is look at the cross.
2. The character of God's love
a) It is unconditional
There are no conditions to God's love. He loves everyone the same.
b) It is tough
When many people think of someone who is loving, they think of someone who doesn't make waves. But that's not true. Parents love their children, yet they discipline them. God loves us, but does not indulge us.
c) It is compassionate
In Jeremiah 13:13-16 God tells the people He will destroy them if they don't change their behavior and give Him glory. Then in verse 17 he says, "But if ye will not hear it ... mine eye shall weep bitterly." He feels for His people and wants what's best for them.
By nature God is love. If we are His children, we will love. Our love will be unconditional--no one will have to earn it and it will be available to all. Our love will be tough and not indulgent. Love does not tolerate sin; it rebukes sin. Our love will be like God's--it will be compassionate even in judgment.
Ephesians 5:1 says, "Be ye, therefore, followers of God, as dear children." God is our Father; we are to manifest His character. Verse 2 says, "Walk in love." Why? Because that manifests God's character. We are to do that which manifests God.
II. LOVE WAS MANIFESTED BY CHRIST (vv. 9-11)
A. The Expression of God's Love (vv. 9-10)
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
We are to love one another based on God's gift to us: His Son. The origin of love is in the being of God, the manifestation of God is in the coming of Christ.
1. Christ's supreme act
There have been many manifestations of God's love, but the greatest is the death of Christ. Romans 5:8 says, "God commendeth his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
2. Christ's supreme role
John says Christ is God's "only begotten [Gk., monogen[ma]es] Son." What does that mean? It does not refer only to Christ's birth or His humanness. Here it means, "the supreme one." There is none greater than Christ. He is God's unspeakable gift (2 Cor. 9:15).
3. Christ's supreme sacrifice
To provide life for us, Christ had to become "the propitiation for our sin" (1 John 4:10). God is a God of justice who cannot tolerate sin. The Greek word translated "propitiation" is hilasmos, which means, "satisfaction." Christ's death satisfied God's requirements for dealing with sin. Hebrews 9:5 translates a form of that word as "mercy seat." In Old Testament times, blood from a sacrifice was taken into the Holy of Holies once a year and poured out on the mercy seat. That satisfied God's righteous requirements.
B. The Example of God's Love (v. 11)
"Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
1. The pattern
God gave us the example of Christ to follow. In John 13:34 Jesus says, "Love one another; as I have loved you." How has He loved us? By giving of Himself, In self-sacrifice, and that's how we're to love one another.
2. The principle
Ephesians 5:1-2 says, "Be ye, therefore, followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice." How are we to love? In the same self-sacrificing manner that Christ loved. Love is not an emotion; it is an act of self-sacrifice. It takes no effort to say "I love you" to someone. John addresses that issue in 1 John 3:18: "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." We are to love as Christ loved--we are called to make sacrifices for each other. First John 3:17 says, "Whosoever hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his compassions from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" That verse defines love as simply giving to someone who has a need. We're to love each other sacrificially.
III. LOVE IS THE CHRISTIAN'S TESTIMONY (v. 12)
A. The Invisible Glory of God (v. 12a)
"No man hath seen God at any time."
When someone says he had a vision, you can tell him that no man has seen God at any time. John 4:24 says, "God is a Spirit." Jesus said, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones" (Luke 24:39).
1. Unseen by Moses
Some object, saying Moses saw God in Exodus 33:22. But God Himself told Moses, "No man [shall] see me, and live" (v. 20). Moses saw only a manifestation of God reduced to visible light. Similarly the Son of God unveiled His flesh at the Mount of Transfiguration and gave His disciples a brief glimpse of His glory (Matt. 17:2). God is light (1 John 1:5), and there is no way anyone could ever gaze into absolute and total light without being totally consumed. No man has ever seen God in His entirety.
2. Unseen by Isaiah
Scripture tells us Isaiah saw "the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up" (Isa. 6:1). He may have see a representation of God, but he didn't see the unveiled God. First Timothy 1:17 says God is invisible.
If God can't be seen at all, the only hope the world has in recognizing God is if He becomes visible in human flesh. And that's just what He did! John 1:14 says, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." God chose the body of the Lord Jesus Christ to manifest Himself. But He also chose another body.
B. The Visible Manifestation of God (v. 12b)
"If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us."
Scripture says the church is the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12). We are here to manifest the invisible God to the world. How will the world see Him? When we love one another. In John 13:34-35 Jesus says, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another .... By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples." The revelation of God exists through the love of the church. Is it any wonder the world is having difficulty figuring out where God went? We have a tremendous responsibility, but we fall so short of it. Love is our strongest apologetic.
I was approached by someone who said, "I'm very concerned about someone at Grace Church. I don't see love in his life. All I see is bitterness, a critical spirit, and hatred. He tosses unkind words toward others. I'm not too sure he's even a Christian." Now I don't know whether he is a Christian or not, but it's certainly hard to tell when love isn't present in his life. Why? Because love is the manifestation of the indwelling of God. When I love my brother, God's love is perfected in me.
Jesus isn't physically present in this world; He's seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 1:3). The church is the collective representation of God in this world. That's why our testimony is critical. Our love is that testimony.
IV. LOVE IS THE CHRISTIAN'S ASSURANCE (vv. 13-16)
One ongoing struggle Christians have is doubting their salvation. You can ask certain Christians if they have ever invited Christ into their life and they will say, "Yes! Thirteen times in the last week." We like to sing hymns like "Blessed Assurance" so we can feel better afterwards.
Believers can be assured of their salvation when they see deeds of love manifest in their life. First John 3:18-19 says, "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. By this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him." When you can see visible evidence of love in your life, then you know God is in it. Continual deeds of love are evidence of salvation. Your love brings about your assurance.
A. The Presence of the Holy Spirit (v. 13)
"By this know we we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit."
The first confirmation we have is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts crying, "Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:15). Romans 8:16 says, "The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." The Holy Spirit is our witness.
B. The Confession of Jesus Christ (vv. 14-15)
"We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God."
When you doubt your salvation, the first guarantee is the presence of the Holy Spirit and the second is your belief that Jesus is God in human flesh. Someone said to me, "I don't know if I'm a Christian." I asked him if he believed Jesus is God if he had ever been led by the Holy Spirit to do anything. Romans 8:14 says, "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." The Holy Spirit doesn't lead unsaved people.
C. The Manifestation of God's Love (v. 16)
"We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."
The third and climactic confirmation of your salvation is when your life manifests the love of God. Satan does not produce deeds of love in believers.
V. LOVE IS THE CHRISTIAN'S CONFIDENCE (vv. 17-18)
A. Perfect Love Produces Boldness (v. 17)
1. Absence of fear (v. 17a)
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment"
"Day of judgment" is a general term. I don't think we can pin it down to the rapture, the b[ma]ema judgment, or the Great White Throne judgment. The point is we don't need to worry--we will have boldness when the time comes because we've seen perfect love manifested in our lives. The Greek word translated "boldness" is parr[ma]esia, which means "confidence." We have confidence in the future. When love is made perfect in our lives, we don't fear the coming of Christ.
A Phony Rapture
There are some Christians who don't want Jesus to come because they're afraid of the rapture. They're worried they'll be left behind. That reminds me of one of the dumber things I participated in while in college. One guy was terrified of the rapture, so the rest of us in the dormitory decided to pull off a fake rapture. We went to the soundstage and picked up a large aluminum sheet that made thunderclaps. We got a trumpet. And we found a press camera with a large flash. Then we prepared the rooms around his. We caved in the pillows and tucked in the covers of the beds. In the middle of the night we went into his room while he was asleep in his bunk. One guy held the camera right over his face. One hit the aluminum sheet, another blew the trumpet, and someone yelled out, "Come!" As he opened his eyes, the flash went off, blinding him. We all hid down the hall. He came wandering out of his room and went into one room and then another. Then he came screaming down the hall, "I'm left! I'm left!" We tried to justify our fun as a lesson to teach him that such fear was foolish.
a) The fear of some
Some people don't want to come to the b[ma]ema because they're afraid they won't receive any rewards. They think all they have accomplished is wood, hay, and stubble, which will be consumed (1 Cor. 3:12-13). My grandfather wrote this in his Bible: "When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ and He shows me His plan for me--the plan of my life as it might have been--and I see how I blocked Him here and checked Him there and would not yield my will, will there be grief in my Savior's eyes--grief though He loves me still? He would have me rich, but I stand here poor, stripped of all but His grace while memory runs like a haunted thing down a path I can't retrace. Then my desolate heart will well nigh break with tears I cannot shed. I will cover my face with my empty hands; I will bow my uncrowned head."
b) The confidence of others
Actually, there is no need for the Christian to worry. Every man shall have his reward (1 Cor. 3:8). I like the attitude of Paul, who said he and a lot of other people "love his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:8). Do you know why Paul had such confidence? Because he had the kind of visible love that gives a believer confidence.
2. Union with Christ (v. 17b)
"Because as he is, so are we in this world."
God has made us one with Christ. Romans 8:1 says, "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus." But you'll never have security, even though you may know your theology, unless you can see visible deeds of love in your life.
B. Perfect Love Eliminates Fear (v. 18)
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
If you're afraid, then your love is not yet perfect. Love that is mature and fulfilled has no fear of punishment, only confidence. Because you love your brothers and sisters in Christ, you can look forward to the coming of Christ.
VI. LOVE IS REASONABLE (vv. 19-20)
A. The Progression of Love (v. 19)
"We love him, because he first loved us."
We have the ability to love each other because God manifested His love to us in Christ, and then placed His love in us through the Holy Spirit. It is logical for the Christian to love in response.
B. The Pretenders of Love (v. 20)
"If a man says, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?"
This is the seventh time John has used the phrase "If a man says." Each time it refers to some illegitimate claim to faith. It is a warning against some pretender. In this case someone claims to love God, yet he hates his brother. Where does God dwell in this world? In us. How can I love God and hate another believer when God lives in that believer? It's impossible. The person is obviously a liar.
I don't care how cantankerous and obnoxious another Christian may seem to you, God still lives in him. Don't say you love God but hate him. How can you claim to love the invisible God and not love His presence in His people? It is easier to serve a visible man than an invisible God. If you can't serve a visible man, you certainly can't serve the invisible God. A claim to love God is an obvious lie if it is not accompanied by unselfish love for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Conclusion
John sums up his thoughts in verse 21, "This commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also." Don't say you love God if you don't love your brother. We are to love because love is the essence of God's nature. We are His children and we are partakers of the divine nature. We should love because it is a manifestation of Christ, and He is our example. We should love because it is the Christian's testimony, assurance, and confidence. Love is the only reasonable option for believers.
How Does God's Love Function?
1. It is unrequited
Christian love doesn't need anything in return. It doesn't say, "I love you because you love me." One person doesn't love someone because he does him favors. He loves him independent of any return.
2. It is unconditional
Love doesn't care how much it is offended, abused, and sinned against. We need to forgive and forget. There are no conditions to perfect love.
3. It is vicarious
It gladly bears the pain of others. We should be willing to bear one another's burdens, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice.
4. It is self-giving
It is synonymous with sacrifice. If I have one meal and two of us need food, I give it to you and I go without.
5. It is righteous
It tolerates no sin. When my child sins, I discipline him. When a believer sins, the church disciplines him. When you truly love someone, you will point out their sins to them in a loving way.
God's love for us was unrequited--He loved us when we hated Him. It is unconditional--it didn't matter to Him what we had done, He forgave all of it. His love is vicarious--He substituted His Son in our place. His love is self-giving--He made the ultimate sacrifice. He gave His supreme gift: His Son. Finally, His love is righteous--He loves us so He chastens us. Let's follow His example by loving one another.
Focusing on the Facts
1. What are some of the adjectives the New Testament uses to describe the love of God (see p. 1)?
2. What does John mean when he describes love as perfect (see p. 1)?
3. What must happen before love can be perfected in believers (see p. 2)?
4. According to 1 John 4:7, why should believers love one another (see p. 2)?
5. Which is correct: Love defines God (or) God defines love (see p. 3)?
6. What does knowing that God is love explain (see p. 4)?
7. Describe the character of God's love (see p. 5).
8. What basic principle is stated by Ephesians 5:1 (see p. 5)?
9. What is the greatest manifestation of God's love (see p. 6)?
10. What does "propitiation" mean in 1 John 4:10 (see p. 6)?
11. What pattern are believers to follow in their practice of love (see p. 6)?
12. Why can't God be seen (John 4:24; see p. 7)?
13. In what two ways is God made visible to the world (see pp. 7-8)?
14. What ongoing struggle is experienced by many Christians (see p. 8)?
15. According to 1 John 4:13-16, what three aspects of the Christian life provide assurance for the believer (see pp. 8-9)?
16. Why can believers have confidence in the day of judgment (see p. 9)?
17. Why do some believers fear the rapture (see p. 10)?
18. According to 1 John 4:19, why do Christians love (see p. 11)?
19. When is a claim to love God an obvious lie (1 John 4:20; see p. 11)?
20. Describe God's love (see p. 12).
Pondering the Principles
1. Read through 1 John. Record each passage that discusses obedience. How many of those verses relate to love? Based on what you have read, what do you need to do to see love perfected in your life? Is love being perfected in your life, or is disobedience preventing that from happening? What areas of your life need to be more aligned with God's standard before you will manifest perfect love? Make the commitment to institute changes today.
2. Our love should be a God's love--unrequited, unconditional, vicarious, self-giving, and righteous. On a scale of 1-10, rate the degree that each characteristic is displayed in your life. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Begin to work on improving your weakest characteristic. What are some things you can do to make improvements in the other areas? Ask God to give you guidance in the application of those things.
Written by
John MacArthur
A. The Unfulfilled Love of the World
I am amazed at how much of secular music deals with the subject of love. However, the love expressed in those songs is basically unfulfilled. There seems to be a lostness--a love that never has any ultimate meaning. Compare that with divine love. The only conclusion is that human love is unfulfilled. At its best, it's imperfect.
Philosopher Jean Paul Sartre wrote a novel entitled Nausea. In it Roquentin, his main character, is trying to find the meaning of life. He looks in many places, and decides to give love a try. But all he knows is mechanical and meaningless sex. He concludes that man is egoistic and loves only to enslave his lover. Roquentin is so unfulfilled in love that the nausea of life becomes overwhelming to him. He says he contemplated killing himself in order to remove one more superfluous life.
B. The Fulfilled Love of Christianity
People long for a love that is perfect, complete, and fulfilling. First John 4 is the record of that kind of love. Verse 12 says, "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." Verse 17 says, "Herein is our love made perfect." Verse 18 says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear." Perfect love is available to men.
The New Testament uses many adjectives to describe the love of God: brotherly, unfeigned, believing, serving, abounding, forgiving, comforting, laboring love. But the greatest description is perfect love.
1. Regarded as perfect
What does John mean when he says love is perfect? In English we think of something that has no flaws. But the Greek word teleio[ma]o refers to something that is fulfilled. It means "completion" or "wholeness." When Jesus was on the cross, He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30). He used a form of the same word. He finished the work God had committed to Him. John uses the word in the perfect passive, denoting the completeness of love in the life of an individual. There is available a love that is whole--a love that is the best it can possibly be in the human realm. It is not necessarily flawless in this life because we bring in flaws as a result of our humanness. Romans 5:5 says, "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts." God has committed His love to us.
2. Realized in obedience
God's love realizes its perfection in us only when we obey the Word of God.
a) 1 John 2:5--"Whosoever keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected." The obedient individual realizes the fullness of all that God's love means.
b) 1 John 5:3--"This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." Fulfilling love is not sentiment or mystical experience; it is contingent upon moral obedience.
The workings of perfect love are detailed in 1 John 4:7-21. That is John's third and last discussion of love in his letter. His two previous discussions were in 1 John 2:7-11 and 3:10-14. Love is the soul- searching, moral test of true Christianity. When someone claims to be a Christian, John says we're to find out if he loves his brothers and sisters in Christ.
First John 4:7 is the key to the passage: "Beloved, let us love one another." Verse 12 says, "If we love one another." And verse 21 closes the passage: "This commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also." The beginning, middle, and ending of this passage deal with loving one another. The first word in verse 7 is "beloved" (Gk., agapetoi, `divinely loved ones'). John is saying, "Since God loves you, let us love one another." That is one more use of the present tense to denote habitual action. Christians are to habitually love one another. Now when the Word of God says something once, it's divine truth. When it says something twice, that means it's very important. But when the Word of God says the same thing over and over, we'd better pay particular attention. God repeats the theme of love so much because we can easily forget to love. We need to be reminded to have a perfect, complete, and fulfilled love for one another. John gives several reasons for loving one another.
I. LOVE IS THE ESSENCE OF GOD (vv. 7-8)
A. Present in His Children (v. 7)
"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."
We ought to love one another because love is a characteristic of God. Since we are God's children, we should reflect the character of our Father. Those of you with children may have had someone say to you, "Your kids are exactly like you." A child will take on the traits of his parents, both from the standpoint of heredity and environment. We are born of God--that's our heredity--and we have experienced His presence in our lives--our environment. God's people are to bear His reflection.
Change Your Name or Change Your Behavior
There is a story about a soldier in the army of Alexander the Great. It seems he had misbehaved. As he came before the judgment seat, the presiding judge asked him his name. He said, "It is Alexander, the same as Alexander the Great." The judge replied, "Change your name or change your behavior." Do you name the name of Christ? If so, you ought to act like Him. Otherwise you bring reproach on His name. If we are the children of God, we should manifest His love. Everyone who habitually loves gives evidence of being born of God. Since love has God as its source, those who display that love give evidence of being born of God.
The phrase "everyone that loveth is born of God" (v. 7) should be rendered, "everyone that loveth has been begotten of God." That is a past action with continuous results. Remember, John is attacking the heretical teaching of the Gnostics. In verse 7 John points out that it isn't those who claim to know God who are true, but those who love that give evidence of being born of God.
B. Absent from His Enemies (v. 8)
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
It doesn't matter what someone claims--if he doesn't love, he doesn't know God. The Gnostics knew a lot of speculative theology and had a superficial knowledge of Scripture, but they didn't know God because they didn't love others. They had so elevated themselves by their intellectual attainments that they had contempt for everyone who supposedly knew less than they did. They were the opposite of love.
1. The cooperation of God's love
God is love itself, however love does not define God; God defines love. All God's activities are expressed in love because all His attributes work in cooperation. Even in judgment God's love shines through. To prove that ask yourself: Where is God's judgment the most demonstrative? At the cross. He poured out His wrath on His own Son as the punishment for sin. But where is God's love displayed most? At the cross. God's justice and love operate together.
That God is love explains the following:
a) Creation
Why would God create a world that brings Him so much trouble? Because God is love, and love does not exist in isolation.
b) Volition
God gave man volition because a love relationship necessitates the ability to choose.
c) Providence
Since God is love, His creative act was followed by His constant care. His love sustains and upholds the world. He makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45).
d) Redemption
If God cared only about the law, He would leave man to the consequences of his sin. But because God is love, He seeks to save. Love provides a remedy.
e) Eternal life
Why will believers be in heaven forever? Because God loves you and wants you to be there with Him.
It Can Be Hard to Believe God Is Love
Some people find it hard to believe that God is love. They say, "If God is a God of love, how can He allow so much injustice in the world?" The backcover of John Wenham's book The Goodness of God (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP, 1974), reads as follows: "Look at the world around us: History is a long tale of man's inhumanity to man. Spain had its Inquisition, Britain its Atlantic slave trade, Germany its gas chambers, Russia its Siberian labor camps, the United States its Indian reservations. And the world is still swept by fear and lust, greed and racial tension.
"Nature too seems twisted. Babies are born deformed. They inherit diseases and tendencies to insanity. Ours is a world of preying animals, parasites, viruses and bacteria.
"The Bible itself even raises the question. It records tyranny, cruelty, mutilation--eyes gouged out, hands lopped off--deceit, licentiousness, war. Not only war but God-sent war. Assyria, one of the cruelest nations of history is called the rod of God's anger."
Wenham writes, "Easy answers could not possibly be right .... we [must] realize that we are children, that we are fools, that we are at heart conceited, stiff-necked rebels, who will get everything wrong, unless we are prepared to give up telling God what he should like and what he should do" (p. 10).
Objectors simply tell us what sin has done, not what God has done. People ask "If God is a God of love, why doesn't He stop all the wars?" The obvious answer is He didn't start them. The Word of God says God is love. I believe it. All you have to do to prove it is look at the cross.
2. The character of God's love
a) It is unconditional
There are no conditions to God's love. He loves everyone the same.
b) It is tough
When many people think of someone who is loving, they think of someone who doesn't make waves. But that's not true. Parents love their children, yet they discipline them. God loves us, but does not indulge us.
c) It is compassionate
In Jeremiah 13:13-16 God tells the people He will destroy them if they don't change their behavior and give Him glory. Then in verse 17 he says, "But if ye will not hear it ... mine eye shall weep bitterly." He feels for His people and wants what's best for them.
By nature God is love. If we are His children, we will love. Our love will be unconditional--no one will have to earn it and it will be available to all. Our love will be tough and not indulgent. Love does not tolerate sin; it rebukes sin. Our love will be like God's--it will be compassionate even in judgment.
Ephesians 5:1 says, "Be ye, therefore, followers of God, as dear children." God is our Father; we are to manifest His character. Verse 2 says, "Walk in love." Why? Because that manifests God's character. We are to do that which manifests God.
II. LOVE WAS MANIFESTED BY CHRIST (vv. 9-11)
A. The Expression of God's Love (vv. 9-10)
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
We are to love one another based on God's gift to us: His Son. The origin of love is in the being of God, the manifestation of God is in the coming of Christ.
1. Christ's supreme act
There have been many manifestations of God's love, but the greatest is the death of Christ. Romans 5:8 says, "God commendeth his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
2. Christ's supreme role
John says Christ is God's "only begotten [Gk., monogen[ma]es] Son." What does that mean? It does not refer only to Christ's birth or His humanness. Here it means, "the supreme one." There is none greater than Christ. He is God's unspeakable gift (2 Cor. 9:15).
3. Christ's supreme sacrifice
To provide life for us, Christ had to become "the propitiation for our sin" (1 John 4:10). God is a God of justice who cannot tolerate sin. The Greek word translated "propitiation" is hilasmos, which means, "satisfaction." Christ's death satisfied God's requirements for dealing with sin. Hebrews 9:5 translates a form of that word as "mercy seat." In Old Testament times, blood from a sacrifice was taken into the Holy of Holies once a year and poured out on the mercy seat. That satisfied God's righteous requirements.
B. The Example of God's Love (v. 11)
"Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
1. The pattern
God gave us the example of Christ to follow. In John 13:34 Jesus says, "Love one another; as I have loved you." How has He loved us? By giving of Himself, In self-sacrifice, and that's how we're to love one another.
2. The principle
Ephesians 5:1-2 says, "Be ye, therefore, followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice." How are we to love? In the same self-sacrificing manner that Christ loved. Love is not an emotion; it is an act of self-sacrifice. It takes no effort to say "I love you" to someone. John addresses that issue in 1 John 3:18: "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." We are to love as Christ loved--we are called to make sacrifices for each other. First John 3:17 says, "Whosoever hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his compassions from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" That verse defines love as simply giving to someone who has a need. We're to love each other sacrificially.
III. LOVE IS THE CHRISTIAN'S TESTIMONY (v. 12)
A. The Invisible Glory of God (v. 12a)
"No man hath seen God at any time."
When someone says he had a vision, you can tell him that no man has seen God at any time. John 4:24 says, "God is a Spirit." Jesus said, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones" (Luke 24:39).
1. Unseen by Moses
Some object, saying Moses saw God in Exodus 33:22. But God Himself told Moses, "No man [shall] see me, and live" (v. 20). Moses saw only a manifestation of God reduced to visible light. Similarly the Son of God unveiled His flesh at the Mount of Transfiguration and gave His disciples a brief glimpse of His glory (Matt. 17:2). God is light (1 John 1:5), and there is no way anyone could ever gaze into absolute and total light without being totally consumed. No man has ever seen God in His entirety.
2. Unseen by Isaiah
Scripture tells us Isaiah saw "the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up" (Isa. 6:1). He may have see a representation of God, but he didn't see the unveiled God. First Timothy 1:17 says God is invisible.
If God can't be seen at all, the only hope the world has in recognizing God is if He becomes visible in human flesh. And that's just what He did! John 1:14 says, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." God chose the body of the Lord Jesus Christ to manifest Himself. But He also chose another body.
B. The Visible Manifestation of God (v. 12b)
"If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us."
Scripture says the church is the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12). We are here to manifest the invisible God to the world. How will the world see Him? When we love one another. In John 13:34-35 Jesus says, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another .... By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples." The revelation of God exists through the love of the church. Is it any wonder the world is having difficulty figuring out where God went? We have a tremendous responsibility, but we fall so short of it. Love is our strongest apologetic.
I was approached by someone who said, "I'm very concerned about someone at Grace Church. I don't see love in his life. All I see is bitterness, a critical spirit, and hatred. He tosses unkind words toward others. I'm not too sure he's even a Christian." Now I don't know whether he is a Christian or not, but it's certainly hard to tell when love isn't present in his life. Why? Because love is the manifestation of the indwelling of God. When I love my brother, God's love is perfected in me.
Jesus isn't physically present in this world; He's seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 1:3). The church is the collective representation of God in this world. That's why our testimony is critical. Our love is that testimony.
IV. LOVE IS THE CHRISTIAN'S ASSURANCE (vv. 13-16)
One ongoing struggle Christians have is doubting their salvation. You can ask certain Christians if they have ever invited Christ into their life and they will say, "Yes! Thirteen times in the last week." We like to sing hymns like "Blessed Assurance" so we can feel better afterwards.
Believers can be assured of their salvation when they see deeds of love manifest in their life. First John 3:18-19 says, "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. By this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him." When you can see visible evidence of love in your life, then you know God is in it. Continual deeds of love are evidence of salvation. Your love brings about your assurance.
A. The Presence of the Holy Spirit (v. 13)
"By this know we we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit."
The first confirmation we have is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts crying, "Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:15). Romans 8:16 says, "The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." The Holy Spirit is our witness.
B. The Confession of Jesus Christ (vv. 14-15)
"We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God."
When you doubt your salvation, the first guarantee is the presence of the Holy Spirit and the second is your belief that Jesus is God in human flesh. Someone said to me, "I don't know if I'm a Christian." I asked him if he believed Jesus is God if he had ever been led by the Holy Spirit to do anything. Romans 8:14 says, "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." The Holy Spirit doesn't lead unsaved people.
C. The Manifestation of God's Love (v. 16)
"We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."
The third and climactic confirmation of your salvation is when your life manifests the love of God. Satan does not produce deeds of love in believers.
V. LOVE IS THE CHRISTIAN'S CONFIDENCE (vv. 17-18)
A. Perfect Love Produces Boldness (v. 17)
1. Absence of fear (v. 17a)
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment"
"Day of judgment" is a general term. I don't think we can pin it down to the rapture, the b[ma]ema judgment, or the Great White Throne judgment. The point is we don't need to worry--we will have boldness when the time comes because we've seen perfect love manifested in our lives. The Greek word translated "boldness" is parr[ma]esia, which means "confidence." We have confidence in the future. When love is made perfect in our lives, we don't fear the coming of Christ.
A Phony Rapture
There are some Christians who don't want Jesus to come because they're afraid of the rapture. They're worried they'll be left behind. That reminds me of one of the dumber things I participated in while in college. One guy was terrified of the rapture, so the rest of us in the dormitory decided to pull off a fake rapture. We went to the soundstage and picked up a large aluminum sheet that made thunderclaps. We got a trumpet. And we found a press camera with a large flash. Then we prepared the rooms around his. We caved in the pillows and tucked in the covers of the beds. In the middle of the night we went into his room while he was asleep in his bunk. One guy held the camera right over his face. One hit the aluminum sheet, another blew the trumpet, and someone yelled out, "Come!" As he opened his eyes, the flash went off, blinding him. We all hid down the hall. He came wandering out of his room and went into one room and then another. Then he came screaming down the hall, "I'm left! I'm left!" We tried to justify our fun as a lesson to teach him that such fear was foolish.
a) The fear of some
Some people don't want to come to the b[ma]ema because they're afraid they won't receive any rewards. They think all they have accomplished is wood, hay, and stubble, which will be consumed (1 Cor. 3:12-13). My grandfather wrote this in his Bible: "When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ and He shows me His plan for me--the plan of my life as it might have been--and I see how I blocked Him here and checked Him there and would not yield my will, will there be grief in my Savior's eyes--grief though He loves me still? He would have me rich, but I stand here poor, stripped of all but His grace while memory runs like a haunted thing down a path I can't retrace. Then my desolate heart will well nigh break with tears I cannot shed. I will cover my face with my empty hands; I will bow my uncrowned head."
b) The confidence of others
Actually, there is no need for the Christian to worry. Every man shall have his reward (1 Cor. 3:8). I like the attitude of Paul, who said he and a lot of other people "love his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:8). Do you know why Paul had such confidence? Because he had the kind of visible love that gives a believer confidence.
2. Union with Christ (v. 17b)
"Because as he is, so are we in this world."
God has made us one with Christ. Romans 8:1 says, "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus." But you'll never have security, even though you may know your theology, unless you can see visible deeds of love in your life.
B. Perfect Love Eliminates Fear (v. 18)
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
If you're afraid, then your love is not yet perfect. Love that is mature and fulfilled has no fear of punishment, only confidence. Because you love your brothers and sisters in Christ, you can look forward to the coming of Christ.
VI. LOVE IS REASONABLE (vv. 19-20)
A. The Progression of Love (v. 19)
"We love him, because he first loved us."
We have the ability to love each other because God manifested His love to us in Christ, and then placed His love in us through the Holy Spirit. It is logical for the Christian to love in response.
B. The Pretenders of Love (v. 20)
"If a man says, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?"
This is the seventh time John has used the phrase "If a man says." Each time it refers to some illegitimate claim to faith. It is a warning against some pretender. In this case someone claims to love God, yet he hates his brother. Where does God dwell in this world? In us. How can I love God and hate another believer when God lives in that believer? It's impossible. The person is obviously a liar.
I don't care how cantankerous and obnoxious another Christian may seem to you, God still lives in him. Don't say you love God but hate him. How can you claim to love the invisible God and not love His presence in His people? It is easier to serve a visible man than an invisible God. If you can't serve a visible man, you certainly can't serve the invisible God. A claim to love God is an obvious lie if it is not accompanied by unselfish love for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Conclusion
John sums up his thoughts in verse 21, "This commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also." Don't say you love God if you don't love your brother. We are to love because love is the essence of God's nature. We are His children and we are partakers of the divine nature. We should love because it is a manifestation of Christ, and He is our example. We should love because it is the Christian's testimony, assurance, and confidence. Love is the only reasonable option for believers.
How Does God's Love Function?
1. It is unrequited
Christian love doesn't need anything in return. It doesn't say, "I love you because you love me." One person doesn't love someone because he does him favors. He loves him independent of any return.
2. It is unconditional
Love doesn't care how much it is offended, abused, and sinned against. We need to forgive and forget. There are no conditions to perfect love.
3. It is vicarious
It gladly bears the pain of others. We should be willing to bear one another's burdens, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice.
4. It is self-giving
It is synonymous with sacrifice. If I have one meal and two of us need food, I give it to you and I go without.
5. It is righteous
It tolerates no sin. When my child sins, I discipline him. When a believer sins, the church disciplines him. When you truly love someone, you will point out their sins to them in a loving way.
God's love for us was unrequited--He loved us when we hated Him. It is unconditional--it didn't matter to Him what we had done, He forgave all of it. His love is vicarious--He substituted His Son in our place. His love is self-giving--He made the ultimate sacrifice. He gave His supreme gift: His Son. Finally, His love is righteous--He loves us so He chastens us. Let's follow His example by loving one another.
Focusing on the Facts
1. What are some of the adjectives the New Testament uses to describe the love of God (see p. 1)?
2. What does John mean when he describes love as perfect (see p. 1)?
3. What must happen before love can be perfected in believers (see p. 2)?
4. According to 1 John 4:7, why should believers love one another (see p. 2)?
5. Which is correct: Love defines God (or) God defines love (see p. 3)?
6. What does knowing that God is love explain (see p. 4)?
7. Describe the character of God's love (see p. 5).
8. What basic principle is stated by Ephesians 5:1 (see p. 5)?
9. What is the greatest manifestation of God's love (see p. 6)?
10. What does "propitiation" mean in 1 John 4:10 (see p. 6)?
11. What pattern are believers to follow in their practice of love (see p. 6)?
12. Why can't God be seen (John 4:24; see p. 7)?
13. In what two ways is God made visible to the world (see pp. 7-8)?
14. What ongoing struggle is experienced by many Christians (see p. 8)?
15. According to 1 John 4:13-16, what three aspects of the Christian life provide assurance for the believer (see pp. 8-9)?
16. Why can believers have confidence in the day of judgment (see p. 9)?
17. Why do some believers fear the rapture (see p. 10)?
18. According to 1 John 4:19, why do Christians love (see p. 11)?
19. When is a claim to love God an obvious lie (1 John 4:20; see p. 11)?
20. Describe God's love (see p. 12).
Pondering the Principles
1. Read through 1 John. Record each passage that discusses obedience. How many of those verses relate to love? Based on what you have read, what do you need to do to see love perfected in your life? Is love being perfected in your life, or is disobedience preventing that from happening? What areas of your life need to be more aligned with God's standard before you will manifest perfect love? Make the commitment to institute changes today.
2. Our love should be a God's love--unrequited, unconditional, vicarious, self-giving, and righteous. On a scale of 1-10, rate the degree that each characteristic is displayed in your life. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Begin to work on improving your weakest characteristic. What are some things you can do to make improvements in the other areas? Ask God to give you guidance in the application of those things.
Written by
John MacArthur
Monday, August 30, 2010
We are More Returners than Givers
1. Don’t apologize for preaching God’s Word about money.
Don’t apologize for preaching on giving. You don’t apologize when you preach on prayer or grace or marriage. The only reason we preach on any of this is to help people.
Preach it with confidence!
Luke 16: 9-15
Jesus mentions “mammon” three times here.
If we don’t teach about money, who will?
Mammon is the spirit that rests on money. It promises what only God can give: security, peace, joy. All money has a spirit on it; either mammon or the spirit of God. The way we get the spirit of God is to redeem it by giving the first 10% to God.
It’s either cursed or consecrated. We need to teach our people there are consequences for disobedience to God.
2. Don’t apologize for preaching God’s Word about tithing.
I’m amazed when people say they’re not sure this is biblical. If I get mad at you, I can shoot you. I’m a Christian, and “thou shalt not kill” was under the law, so I don’t have to follow it.
NO!
The righteousness of grace always exceeds the righteousness of the law. Law says don’t kill, grace says don’t even be angry.
And tithing was around 2500 years before the law. It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden (you can have all the trees except that one).
It’s about your heart. God wants your heart! Exodus 23:19, Proverbs 3:9-10, Exodus 13:1-13
Jesus was both firstborn and first fruits. He is the clean animal for our uncleanness, sent to redeem us. Jesus is God’s tithe. He gave Jesus in faith that we would believe. Tithing is all about giving in faith.
Galatians 4:3-5: Cain didn’t bring first fruits.
God is not legalistic and neither am I. It’s about your heart.
3. Don’t apologize for preaching God’s Word about giving.
Tithing is not giving, it’s returning. We are more “Returners” than “Givers” You can’t give a tithe because it doesn’t belong to you. (By the way it goes to the church where you’re being fed. And you can’t designate it, because it’s not yours.)
Tithing is returning to God what’s already his–it’s the training wheels of giving.
Matthew 7: the main topic is judging, not money “for with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:37-38: the main topic is judging; the word money isn’t here, either. But when people preach on this it’s on money. Can it apply to money? Secondarily, and Primarily it’s about the attitude of your heart.
The body Christ has a problem is not because we don’t know Greek, it’s that we don’t know English!
If you judge, you’ll get judgment back….pressed down and running over.
Luke 6:38 is not the motive for giving: we don’t give so we’ll get. It’s the reward for giving with the right heart.
Jesus is the noun of the Bible. Giving is the verb.
John 3:16…….you’re here today because Jesus gave his life for you. You’re here today because you gave your life to Jesus.
Exodus 13: giving your firstborn. When your son questions this, you remind him we weren’t always ranchers; we used to be slaves. But God delivered us, so we gladly return to God the first of everything.
Don’t apologize for preaching on giving. You don’t apologize when you preach on prayer or grace or marriage. The only reason we preach on any of this is to help people.
Preach it with confidence!
Luke 16: 9-15
Jesus mentions “mammon” three times here.
If we don’t teach about money, who will?
Mammon is the spirit that rests on money. It promises what only God can give: security, peace, joy. All money has a spirit on it; either mammon or the spirit of God. The way we get the spirit of God is to redeem it by giving the first 10% to God.
It’s either cursed or consecrated. We need to teach our people there are consequences for disobedience to God.
2. Don’t apologize for preaching God’s Word about tithing.
I’m amazed when people say they’re not sure this is biblical. If I get mad at you, I can shoot you. I’m a Christian, and “thou shalt not kill” was under the law, so I don’t have to follow it.
NO!
The righteousness of grace always exceeds the righteousness of the law. Law says don’t kill, grace says don’t even be angry.
And tithing was around 2500 years before the law. It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden (you can have all the trees except that one).
It’s about your heart. God wants your heart! Exodus 23:19, Proverbs 3:9-10, Exodus 13:1-13
Jesus was both firstborn and first fruits. He is the clean animal for our uncleanness, sent to redeem us. Jesus is God’s tithe. He gave Jesus in faith that we would believe. Tithing is all about giving in faith.
Galatians 4:3-5: Cain didn’t bring first fruits.
God is not legalistic and neither am I. It’s about your heart.
3. Don’t apologize for preaching God’s Word about giving.
Tithing is not giving, it’s returning. We are more “Returners” than “Givers” You can’t give a tithe because it doesn’t belong to you. (By the way it goes to the church where you’re being fed. And you can’t designate it, because it’s not yours.)
Tithing is returning to God what’s already his–it’s the training wheels of giving.
Matthew 7: the main topic is judging, not money “for with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:37-38: the main topic is judging; the word money isn’t here, either. But when people preach on this it’s on money. Can it apply to money? Secondarily, and Primarily it’s about the attitude of your heart.
The body Christ has a problem is not because we don’t know Greek, it’s that we don’t know English!
If you judge, you’ll get judgment back….pressed down and running over.
Luke 6:38 is not the motive for giving: we don’t give so we’ll get. It’s the reward for giving with the right heart.
Jesus is the noun of the Bible. Giving is the verb.
John 3:16…….you’re here today because Jesus gave his life for you. You’re here today because you gave your life to Jesus.
Exodus 13: giving your firstborn. When your son questions this, you remind him we weren’t always ranchers; we used to be slaves. But God delivered us, so we gladly return to God the first of everything.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
First black church in America
GEORGE LIELE
Most histories of missions tell us that the first American missionaries to leave our shores for foreign missionary service were Adoniram and Ann Judson. For the most part they fail to record that as the main sail was hoisted that bleak New England day, February 19, 1812, there was aboard the brig Caravan with the Judsons their co-workers, Samuel and Harriet Newell. Harriet was destined to be the first American missionary martyr, dying at age 18 on the Ile de France.
By rolling the pages of history back into the last half of the 1700s, we learn that some historians feel our first American missionary in overseas service was really George Liele, who was born in approximately 1750 of slave parents whose names were Liele and Nancy. Like many slaves, he was separated from his parents when he was very young. All he knew about his father was from second-hand stories that related that the elder Liele was a deeply religious man. George relates: "I was born in Virginia. I cannot ascertain much of my parents as I went to several parts of America when young and at length resided in New Georgia but was informed by both white and black people that my father was the only black person who knew the Lord in a spiritual way in that country."
Henry Sharp, Liele's owner, was a Baptist deacon, a God-fearing man, and a very kind master. When Sharp moved his family to Georgia around 1770, Liele began attending the white Baptist church with his master. At the Baptist church both he and his master attended, a sermon convinced him that he was "not in the way of heaven but in the way of hell." Greatly convicted by that sermon, he struggled for several months until finally he was converted in 1773. He testified, "I saw my condemnation in my own heart, and I found no way wherein I could escape the damnation of hell only through the merits of my dying Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which caused me to make intercession with Christ for the salvation of my poor immortal soul." And, he adds, "I requested of my Lord and Master to give me a work. I did not care how mean it was, only to try to see how good I would do it."
The first work that God had for George Liele was explaining the Scriptures to the illiterate slaves. He had virtually no formal training but learned to read the Bible and was able to explain the Scriptures to the other slaves. His success in that ministry caught the attention of the pastor of his master's church; and, at the urging of the minister, the church licensed Liele to preach. Some historians believe that George Liele was the first ordained African-American Baptist pastor in America.
His master, Henry Sharp, gave Liele his freedom in order to allow him to preach without hindrance. Following his conversion in 1773, Liele went up and down the Savannah River preaching the Good News. At Silver Bluff, South Carolina, he planted the seeds of one of the earliest independent African-American congregations in the U. S.
Liele also preached even more extensively and with great success in Savannah, Georgia, and the surrounding area. Many future African-American Christian leaders were co-workers with Liele or converts under his preaching.
Henry Sharp, Liele's former owner, was a British loyalist and fought in the Revolutionary War on the side of the British. He was killed in fighting, and some of his heirs tried to re-enslave Liele. He was imprisoned for a period of time until he could produce the papers that showed he was a freed man. Nonetheless, this put concern in Liele's heart that he might indeed be taken back into slavery; so he indentured himself to a British officer names Col. Kirkland who was able to give him sufficient funds to pay passage for him and his family to Jamaica, where Kirkland himself was being transferred. Jamaica at that time was still a British colony. He arrived in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1783, served the Colonel, and paid off his indebtedness.
Once his debt was paid, Liele began preaching among the slaves and free blacks. He formed a church in a private home in September 1784. It should be noted that this was about ten years before William Carey sailed for India and 30 years before Judson reached Burma.
The free people who belonged to Liele's church were generally very poor, but they were all willing, both free and slaves, to do what they could. Liele himself farmed and hauled goods with his horses and wagon. He lamented that the businesses kept him "too much entangled with the affairs of this world," but he felt it also set a good example. By 1790 his congregation had grown to about 350. Liele said of himself and his flock, "We hold to live as nigh the Scriptures as we possibly can." His congregation certainly reflected the truth of Scripture's claim that "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called (I Cor. 1:26).
By 1793 Liele had baptized some 500 converts. He was able to establish other congregations across Jamaica and trained others to help him in the preaching of the Gospel. He also established a free school for the children of slaves and free blacks. One of his deacons wrote that year, "We have great reason in this island to praise and glorify the Lord for His goodness and lovingkindness in sending His blessed Gospel amongst us by our well beloved minister Brother Liele. We were living in slavery to sin and Satan, and the Lord hath redeemed our souls to a state of happiness to praise His glorious and ever blessed Name, and we hope to enjoy everlasting peace in the promise of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. The blessed Gospel is spreading wonderfully in this island. Believers are daily coming to the church."
Liele tried to keep from offending the whites in Jamaica by allowing in his congregation only those slaves who had their master's permission to attend. But in the 1790s there was increasing persecution from some of the white slave owners. On one occasion, as Liele's congregation was about to partake of the Lord's supper, a white man rode his horse directly into the church. "Come, old Liele," he said, "Give my horse the sacrament." Staring the intruder down, Liele replied, "No sir, you're not fit yourself to receive it." The pastor in his pulpit faced the mounted rider as several uneasy moments passed until the arrogant trespasser finally turned his horse and left.
Several times Liele was imprisoned on trumped-up charges; but, like Paul, he preached to the other prisoners and gave the Lord's supper to other Christians in prison. In his absence, the church continued to function under the leadership of his son and the deacons of the church.
One of the worst atrocities at this period of time occurred not directly under Liele's ministry but under the ministry of one of his converts and fellow preachers, Moses Hall. Determined to put an end to slave meetings, some slave owners broke up a prayer meeting being led by a slave named David, one of Moses Hall's assistants. They seized David, murdered him, cut off his head and placed it on a pole in the center of the village as a warning to the other slaves. They dragged Moses Hall up to the grisly object. "Now, Moses Hall, whose head is that?" the leader of the murderers asked. "David's" replied Moses. "Do you know why he's up here?" "For praying, sir," said Moses. "No more of your prayer meetings," he said. "If we catch you at it, we shall serve you as we have served David." As the crowd watched, Moses knelt beside the pole and said, "Let us pray." The other blacks gathered around and knelt with him as he prayed for the salvation of the murderers. Astonished, the slave owners departed, leaving Moses and his followers unharmed.
There is very little record of Liele's later ministry. Between 1801 and 1810 he conducted work in the interior of Jamaica, establishing churches there. That seems to be the pattern of his final years-ministering to the works he had established and establishing new works wherever he could. Liele died in 1828.
In summary, George Liele was ordained in a white church in Burk County, Georgia. This freed black slave gathered the first black church in America at Silver Bluff, South Carolina. Brought up without a church by slave parents, he became the first ordained black Baptist minister in America. Although supported by no church or denominational agency, he became the first Protestant missionary to go out from America to establish a foreign mission-ten years before William Carey set out for India. He was a man without formal education, yet he learned to read the Bible and became a preacher of such effectiveness that in seven years in Jamaica he had converted over 500 slaves to Christianity, and shortly before his death in 1838, there were over 20 thousand Baptists in Jamaica.
JAD
05/09/2001
Most histories of missions tell us that the first American missionaries to leave our shores for foreign missionary service were Adoniram and Ann Judson. For the most part they fail to record that as the main sail was hoisted that bleak New England day, February 19, 1812, there was aboard the brig Caravan with the Judsons their co-workers, Samuel and Harriet Newell. Harriet was destined to be the first American missionary martyr, dying at age 18 on the Ile de France.
By rolling the pages of history back into the last half of the 1700s, we learn that some historians feel our first American missionary in overseas service was really George Liele, who was born in approximately 1750 of slave parents whose names were Liele and Nancy. Like many slaves, he was separated from his parents when he was very young. All he knew about his father was from second-hand stories that related that the elder Liele was a deeply religious man. George relates: "I was born in Virginia. I cannot ascertain much of my parents as I went to several parts of America when young and at length resided in New Georgia but was informed by both white and black people that my father was the only black person who knew the Lord in a spiritual way in that country."
Henry Sharp, Liele's owner, was a Baptist deacon, a God-fearing man, and a very kind master. When Sharp moved his family to Georgia around 1770, Liele began attending the white Baptist church with his master. At the Baptist church both he and his master attended, a sermon convinced him that he was "not in the way of heaven but in the way of hell." Greatly convicted by that sermon, he struggled for several months until finally he was converted in 1773. He testified, "I saw my condemnation in my own heart, and I found no way wherein I could escape the damnation of hell only through the merits of my dying Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which caused me to make intercession with Christ for the salvation of my poor immortal soul." And, he adds, "I requested of my Lord and Master to give me a work. I did not care how mean it was, only to try to see how good I would do it."
The first work that God had for George Liele was explaining the Scriptures to the illiterate slaves. He had virtually no formal training but learned to read the Bible and was able to explain the Scriptures to the other slaves. His success in that ministry caught the attention of the pastor of his master's church; and, at the urging of the minister, the church licensed Liele to preach. Some historians believe that George Liele was the first ordained African-American Baptist pastor in America.
His master, Henry Sharp, gave Liele his freedom in order to allow him to preach without hindrance. Following his conversion in 1773, Liele went up and down the Savannah River preaching the Good News. At Silver Bluff, South Carolina, he planted the seeds of one of the earliest independent African-American congregations in the U. S.
Liele also preached even more extensively and with great success in Savannah, Georgia, and the surrounding area. Many future African-American Christian leaders were co-workers with Liele or converts under his preaching.
Henry Sharp, Liele's former owner, was a British loyalist and fought in the Revolutionary War on the side of the British. He was killed in fighting, and some of his heirs tried to re-enslave Liele. He was imprisoned for a period of time until he could produce the papers that showed he was a freed man. Nonetheless, this put concern in Liele's heart that he might indeed be taken back into slavery; so he indentured himself to a British officer names Col. Kirkland who was able to give him sufficient funds to pay passage for him and his family to Jamaica, where Kirkland himself was being transferred. Jamaica at that time was still a British colony. He arrived in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1783, served the Colonel, and paid off his indebtedness.
Once his debt was paid, Liele began preaching among the slaves and free blacks. He formed a church in a private home in September 1784. It should be noted that this was about ten years before William Carey sailed for India and 30 years before Judson reached Burma.
The free people who belonged to Liele's church were generally very poor, but they were all willing, both free and slaves, to do what they could. Liele himself farmed and hauled goods with his horses and wagon. He lamented that the businesses kept him "too much entangled with the affairs of this world," but he felt it also set a good example. By 1790 his congregation had grown to about 350. Liele said of himself and his flock, "We hold to live as nigh the Scriptures as we possibly can." His congregation certainly reflected the truth of Scripture's claim that "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called (I Cor. 1:26).
By 1793 Liele had baptized some 500 converts. He was able to establish other congregations across Jamaica and trained others to help him in the preaching of the Gospel. He also established a free school for the children of slaves and free blacks. One of his deacons wrote that year, "We have great reason in this island to praise and glorify the Lord for His goodness and lovingkindness in sending His blessed Gospel amongst us by our well beloved minister Brother Liele. We were living in slavery to sin and Satan, and the Lord hath redeemed our souls to a state of happiness to praise His glorious and ever blessed Name, and we hope to enjoy everlasting peace in the promise of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. The blessed Gospel is spreading wonderfully in this island. Believers are daily coming to the church."
Liele tried to keep from offending the whites in Jamaica by allowing in his congregation only those slaves who had their master's permission to attend. But in the 1790s there was increasing persecution from some of the white slave owners. On one occasion, as Liele's congregation was about to partake of the Lord's supper, a white man rode his horse directly into the church. "Come, old Liele," he said, "Give my horse the sacrament." Staring the intruder down, Liele replied, "No sir, you're not fit yourself to receive it." The pastor in his pulpit faced the mounted rider as several uneasy moments passed until the arrogant trespasser finally turned his horse and left.
Several times Liele was imprisoned on trumped-up charges; but, like Paul, he preached to the other prisoners and gave the Lord's supper to other Christians in prison. In his absence, the church continued to function under the leadership of his son and the deacons of the church.
One of the worst atrocities at this period of time occurred not directly under Liele's ministry but under the ministry of one of his converts and fellow preachers, Moses Hall. Determined to put an end to slave meetings, some slave owners broke up a prayer meeting being led by a slave named David, one of Moses Hall's assistants. They seized David, murdered him, cut off his head and placed it on a pole in the center of the village as a warning to the other slaves. They dragged Moses Hall up to the grisly object. "Now, Moses Hall, whose head is that?" the leader of the murderers asked. "David's" replied Moses. "Do you know why he's up here?" "For praying, sir," said Moses. "No more of your prayer meetings," he said. "If we catch you at it, we shall serve you as we have served David." As the crowd watched, Moses knelt beside the pole and said, "Let us pray." The other blacks gathered around and knelt with him as he prayed for the salvation of the murderers. Astonished, the slave owners departed, leaving Moses and his followers unharmed.
There is very little record of Liele's later ministry. Between 1801 and 1810 he conducted work in the interior of Jamaica, establishing churches there. That seems to be the pattern of his final years-ministering to the works he had established and establishing new works wherever he could. Liele died in 1828.
In summary, George Liele was ordained in a white church in Burk County, Georgia. This freed black slave gathered the first black church in America at Silver Bluff, South Carolina. Brought up without a church by slave parents, he became the first ordained black Baptist minister in America. Although supported by no church or denominational agency, he became the first Protestant missionary to go out from America to establish a foreign mission-ten years before William Carey set out for India. He was a man without formal education, yet he learned to read the Bible and became a preacher of such effectiveness that in seven years in Jamaica he had converted over 500 slaves to Christianity, and shortly before his death in 1838, there were over 20 thousand Baptists in Jamaica.
JAD
05/09/2001
Friday, August 13, 2010
Coming to the Lord for Grace
"Come to Me…and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me…and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)
Our previous meditation on the spiritual rest promised by Jesus provides an excellent opportunity to reflect again upon the relational aspect of living by the grace of God. God's grace does not abound toward us by means of some religious procedure. His grace flows into our lives as we walk in a developing relationship with Him. This is essential to understand, since it is "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 8:9) that we are to be experiencing.
It is in coming to the Lord, in relating to the Lord, that we find His grace at work in our lives. "Come to Me…Take My yoke… learn from Me." When we first come to Jesus in humble dependence, we find His grace forgives us of our sin and guilt. When we yoke up with Him, walking intimately with Him each day, we find His grace rescues us from religious, fleshly striving.
This pattern of coming to the Lord is prevalent in the Scriptures. Isaiah wrote of it concerning salvation. "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other…Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come" (Isaiah 45:22, 24). Isaiah also declared that by simply coming to the Lord spiritual refreshment and life from God would be available. "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live" (Isaiah 55:1-3). Of course, Jesus restated this profound invitation concerning Himself. "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38).
The Apostle Peter wrote of another significant issue for which we come to Jesus. "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:4-5). If we are going to access the grace that edifies our lives, we must consistently be coming to Jesus Christ, the Father's chosen and precious cornerstone.
Dear Lord, I praise You for the grace that I find every time I come to You in humble dependence. Coming to You, I am cleansed, sustained, refreshed, and built up. I am so thankful that Your grace is accessed through relationship with You and not through religious performance by me!
Our previous meditation on the spiritual rest promised by Jesus provides an excellent opportunity to reflect again upon the relational aspect of living by the grace of God. God's grace does not abound toward us by means of some religious procedure. His grace flows into our lives as we walk in a developing relationship with Him. This is essential to understand, since it is "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 8:9) that we are to be experiencing.
It is in coming to the Lord, in relating to the Lord, that we find His grace at work in our lives. "Come to Me…Take My yoke… learn from Me." When we first come to Jesus in humble dependence, we find His grace forgives us of our sin and guilt. When we yoke up with Him, walking intimately with Him each day, we find His grace rescues us from religious, fleshly striving.
This pattern of coming to the Lord is prevalent in the Scriptures. Isaiah wrote of it concerning salvation. "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other…Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come" (Isaiah 45:22, 24). Isaiah also declared that by simply coming to the Lord spiritual refreshment and life from God would be available. "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live" (Isaiah 55:1-3). Of course, Jesus restated this profound invitation concerning Himself. "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38).
The Apostle Peter wrote of another significant issue for which we come to Jesus. "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:4-5). If we are going to access the grace that edifies our lives, we must consistently be coming to Jesus Christ, the Father's chosen and precious cornerstone.
Dear Lord, I praise You for the grace that I find every time I come to You in humble dependence. Coming to You, I am cleansed, sustained, refreshed, and built up. I am so thankful that Your grace is accessed through relationship with You and not through religious performance by me!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
How We are to Respond to God's Promises
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:16-17)
How are we to respond to God's promises of blessing? Such promises are not automatically at work in every life that hears them. Some people respond correctly, while others respond improperly. Some enjoy the benefits of God's promises, whereas others do not. In these two verses, we are given the necessary response to all that pertains to the gospel of grace. That response is faith. This would certainly include living by the promises of God.
Paul was unashamed of the gospel because he knew its effective character. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation." The good news about Jesus Christ is essentially the grace of God proclaimed to man: "the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). This grace is God's power poured out unto the saving of souls. This power is experienced by all who place their faith in the gospel, whether Jew or Gentile: "for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." The gospel is effective, because it holds forth God's righteousness to sinful man, if he is willing to trust in the Lord. "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith."
The gospel is referred to in the Scriptures as a promise. "And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life" (1 John 2:25). The gospel is often stated in the form of promises: "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved… whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 15:11 and Romans 10:13). These gospel promises are partaken of by faith. "The just shall live by faith."
In addition to initial salvation, the good news of God's grace includes many other promises from God. "I will build My church…You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth" (Matthew 16:18; John 8:32; and 16:13). All of these promises are experienced by faith as well, because "the just shall live by faith"—continually, as well as initially.
O Lord God, I want to respond to Your promises properly. How gracious that You only ask me to trust in what You have promised to do. I do not want to ignore Your promises or doubt them. I want to live by relying upon every promise You have ever made. In Your faithful name I pray, Amen.
How are we to respond to God's promises of blessing? Such promises are not automatically at work in every life that hears them. Some people respond correctly, while others respond improperly. Some enjoy the benefits of God's promises, whereas others do not. In these two verses, we are given the necessary response to all that pertains to the gospel of grace. That response is faith. This would certainly include living by the promises of God.
Paul was unashamed of the gospel because he knew its effective character. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation." The good news about Jesus Christ is essentially the grace of God proclaimed to man: "the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). This grace is God's power poured out unto the saving of souls. This power is experienced by all who place their faith in the gospel, whether Jew or Gentile: "for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." The gospel is effective, because it holds forth God's righteousness to sinful man, if he is willing to trust in the Lord. "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith."
The gospel is referred to in the Scriptures as a promise. "And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life" (1 John 2:25). The gospel is often stated in the form of promises: "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved… whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 15:11 and Romans 10:13). These gospel promises are partaken of by faith. "The just shall live by faith."
In addition to initial salvation, the good news of God's grace includes many other promises from God. "I will build My church…You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth" (Matthew 16:18; John 8:32; and 16:13). All of these promises are experienced by faith as well, because "the just shall live by faith"—continually, as well as initially.
O Lord God, I want to respond to Your promises properly. How gracious that You only ask me to trust in what You have promised to do. I do not want to ignore Your promises or doubt them. I want to live by relying upon every promise You have ever made. In Your faithful name I pray, Amen.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Reflecting on Balance and Rest in the Ministry
There has been much discussion about the ministry and the toll it takes on leaders and families. Christianity Today has a helpful article reflecting on John Piper's recently announced leave of absence. Collin Hansen wrote:
Pastors, even if they do not aspire to Piper's level of influence, easily fall into exhausting patterns of study, counseling, meetings, and visitation that jeopardize time alone with God and with their families...
But local church ministry is hardly the only vocation prone to overwork. Teachers, farmers, doctors, lawyers, small business owners, and middle managers alike feel the strains of labor that threaten family and spiritual life. Still, the threat becomes that much more dangerous when we work unto the Lord in taxing jobs where the cause seemingly justifies the means. Who has time to read the Bible, pray, listen to our friends, and care for our children when there's kingdom work to be done?...
Even during the busyness of this Lenten season, though, we might follow Piper's example and pause to examine the toll of our toiling and the state of our souls. Does our work truly point others to the power of Christ? If not, it may draw attention to the one who plants and waters, not the God who gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:7).
Rick Warren (in this week's Toolbox) asks "Are you working harder than God intended?":
My experience is pastors tend to overwork when they assume extra hours make them more effective in ministry. That's simply not true, and this misguided notion can actually keep others in your church from developing into mature Christian leaders.
I know how it is, when you get frustrated with the way things are going, you tend to want to control everything. It is human nature but it isn't the way God wants us to operate. It turns your ministry into one of those "whack-a-mole" games. The moment you whack down one problem, another one pops up. It's never ending.
Both the Rick Warren article and the the CT story quote some of our LifeWay Research data that I cited in an earlier post. I'll summarize some of that content...
A new study coming out of Lifeway Research shows that "Protestant pastors in America are working long hours, sometimes at the expense of relationships with church members, prospects, family and even the Lord." You can read the whole article here in Facts & Trends.
Here are some of the numbers. See the article for the full story. Feel free to download and use the graphics in your blogs and publications to help people understand what pastoral work and leadership often looks like. My hope is that it will help more pastors (and churches) achieve better balance.
by Ed Stetzer
Pastors, even if they do not aspire to Piper's level of influence, easily fall into exhausting patterns of study, counseling, meetings, and visitation that jeopardize time alone with God and with their families...
But local church ministry is hardly the only vocation prone to overwork. Teachers, farmers, doctors, lawyers, small business owners, and middle managers alike feel the strains of labor that threaten family and spiritual life. Still, the threat becomes that much more dangerous when we work unto the Lord in taxing jobs where the cause seemingly justifies the means. Who has time to read the Bible, pray, listen to our friends, and care for our children when there's kingdom work to be done?...
Even during the busyness of this Lenten season, though, we might follow Piper's example and pause to examine the toll of our toiling and the state of our souls. Does our work truly point others to the power of Christ? If not, it may draw attention to the one who plants and waters, not the God who gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:7).
Rick Warren (in this week's Toolbox) asks "Are you working harder than God intended?":
My experience is pastors tend to overwork when they assume extra hours make them more effective in ministry. That's simply not true, and this misguided notion can actually keep others in your church from developing into mature Christian leaders.
I know how it is, when you get frustrated with the way things are going, you tend to want to control everything. It is human nature but it isn't the way God wants us to operate. It turns your ministry into one of those "whack-a-mole" games. The moment you whack down one problem, another one pops up. It's never ending.
Both the Rick Warren article and the the CT story quote some of our LifeWay Research data that I cited in an earlier post. I'll summarize some of that content...
A new study coming out of Lifeway Research shows that "Protestant pastors in America are working long hours, sometimes at the expense of relationships with church members, prospects, family and even the Lord." You can read the whole article here in Facts & Trends.
Here are some of the numbers. See the article for the full story. Feel free to download and use the graphics in your blogs and publications to help people understand what pastoral work and leadership often looks like. My hope is that it will help more pastors (and churches) achieve better balance.
by Ed Stetzer
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Ten Questions to Explore and Understand a Church
1. Is this church where God’s Word is faithfully taught? (2 Tim. 3:16)
2. Is this a church where sound doctrine matters? (Acts 2:42; 2 Tim 4:3-4)
3. Is this a church in which the gospel is cherished and clearly proclaimed?
4. Is this a church committed to reaching non-Christians with the gospel? (Matt. 28:18-20)
5. Is this a church whose leaders are characterized by humility and integrity?
(1 Tim. 3)
6. Is this a church where people strive to live by God’s Word? (James 1:22)
7. Is this a church where I can find and cultivate godly relationships?
8. Is this a church where members are challenged to serve? (Eph. 4:12)
9. Is this a church that is willing to kick me out? (1 Cor. 5; 2 Cor. 2)
10. Is this a church I’m willing to join “as is” with enthusiasm and faith in God?
2. Is this a church where sound doctrine matters? (Acts 2:42; 2 Tim 4:3-4)
3. Is this a church in which the gospel is cherished and clearly proclaimed?
4. Is this a church committed to reaching non-Christians with the gospel? (Matt. 28:18-20)
5. Is this a church whose leaders are characterized by humility and integrity?
(1 Tim. 3)
6. Is this a church where people strive to live by God’s Word? (James 1:22)
7. Is this a church where I can find and cultivate godly relationships?
8. Is this a church where members are challenged to serve? (Eph. 4:12)
9. Is this a church that is willing to kick me out? (1 Cor. 5; 2 Cor. 2)
10. Is this a church I’m willing to join “as is” with enthusiasm and faith in God?
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wish List For Durham Crisis Center
I dare you to buy an item on this wish list, Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill!
We need your help!
Just get these items. Ask your family to buy something. Ask your church to buy 10 or 100 of these items! Ask your boss to buy an item!
We can do this!!!!!
Wish List:
Household Supplies
Paper Towels
Non-perishable food items
Laundry Detergent
Fabric Softener
Ziploc Bags
Dishwasher Detergent
Thermometer
Laundry Baskets
Cleaning Supplies
Aluminum Foil
Trash Bags (39 gal)
Batteries (all sizes)
Toilet Paper
Soap and Sponges
Hampers
Personal Needs
Tampons
Sanitary Napkins
Deodorant
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Girls Underwear
Lotion
Pantyhose (Variety of colors and sizes)
Women’s knee-hi’s and socks
Women’s underwear
Boys underwear (for ages 12 and under
Other Needs
DATA (adult) Bus Passes
Towels
Gift Certificates (Grocery, Department and Video Stores)
Sweat Shirts (all sizes)
Sweat Pants (all sizes)
Blank Journals
Date Books/Appointment Calendars
Adult and Children Craft Items
Professional skills (Gardening, Painting, Plumbing, Electrician)
We need your help!
Just get these items. Ask your family to buy something. Ask your church to buy 10 or 100 of these items! Ask your boss to buy an item!
We can do this!!!!!
Wish List:
Household Supplies
Paper Towels
Non-perishable food items
Laundry Detergent
Fabric Softener
Ziploc Bags
Dishwasher Detergent
Thermometer
Laundry Baskets
Cleaning Supplies
Aluminum Foil
Trash Bags (39 gal)
Batteries (all sizes)
Toilet Paper
Soap and Sponges
Hampers
Personal Needs
Tampons
Sanitary Napkins
Deodorant
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Girls Underwear
Lotion
Pantyhose (Variety of colors and sizes)
Women’s knee-hi’s and socks
Women’s underwear
Boys underwear (for ages 12 and under
Other Needs
DATA (adult) Bus Passes
Towels
Gift Certificates (Grocery, Department and Video Stores)
Sweat Shirts (all sizes)
Sweat Pants (all sizes)
Blank Journals
Date Books/Appointment Calendars
Adult and Children Craft Items
Professional skills (Gardening, Painting, Plumbing, Electrician)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Becoming God's True Woman
Over the last several decades, women have been encouraged to “have it their way.” I’m so thankful that we are now seeing a deep hunger in the lives of thousands of women to “have it God’s way”—to look to the Word of God for the definition of what it means to be a “true woman.” These women, by God’s grace, seek to live God-centered lives, to trust Him, and to say “Yes, Lord.”
A “true woman” lives a God-centered life.
In a self-centered world, she lives for God’s glory and pleasure, not her own. She understands that life’s not about her—it’s all about Him!
Instead of saying, “What will make me happy?” she asks, “What will please You, Lord? What will further Your Kingdom and display Your glory?” She recognizes her life is not her own, and joyfully lives for the glory of God.
•She embraces her created purpose: to join every created thing in heaven and earth in worshiping and glorifying Him eternally.
•She “turns her eyes upon Jesus” in the midst of her problems and sees these challenges in the context of His greatness.
•She lives a life of repentance, holiness, and service; but above all, she is enthralled with Christ!
A “true woman” trusts God.
•She doesn’t give in to fear because she knows that God can be trusted. He understands everything about her situation, and His good and loving plan will not be thwarted.
•She leans on Him and depends on Him in times of joy, pain, hardship, uncertainty, and confusion.
•She trusts God in circumstances she cannot understand or would not have chosen.
•She resists the temptation to worry and manipulate, because she has relinquished control to Him.
A “true woman” says “Yes, Lord.”
•She believes that God’s purposes for creating male and female are good and wise.
•She considers it a privilege and a delight to serve Him as a woman, and gratefully embraces His design and roles for her life.
•The Word of God is her compass and motivates her to live intentionally and counter-culturally.
•She makes personal sacrifices with her time and resources for the Kingdom of God.
by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
A “true woman” lives a God-centered life.
In a self-centered world, she lives for God’s glory and pleasure, not her own. She understands that life’s not about her—it’s all about Him!
Instead of saying, “What will make me happy?” she asks, “What will please You, Lord? What will further Your Kingdom and display Your glory?” She recognizes her life is not her own, and joyfully lives for the glory of God.
•She embraces her created purpose: to join every created thing in heaven and earth in worshiping and glorifying Him eternally.
•She “turns her eyes upon Jesus” in the midst of her problems and sees these challenges in the context of His greatness.
•She lives a life of repentance, holiness, and service; but above all, she is enthralled with Christ!
A “true woman” trusts God.
•She doesn’t give in to fear because she knows that God can be trusted. He understands everything about her situation, and His good and loving plan will not be thwarted.
•She leans on Him and depends on Him in times of joy, pain, hardship, uncertainty, and confusion.
•She trusts God in circumstances she cannot understand or would not have chosen.
•She resists the temptation to worry and manipulate, because she has relinquished control to Him.
A “true woman” says “Yes, Lord.”
•She believes that God’s purposes for creating male and female are good and wise.
•She considers it a privilege and a delight to serve Him as a woman, and gratefully embraces His design and roles for her life.
•The Word of God is her compass and motivates her to live intentionally and counter-culturally.
•She makes personal sacrifices with her time and resources for the Kingdom of God.
by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Friday, May 14, 2010
Prayer Partners
No partner is more important than prayer partners. Planting a church is a big deal. Satan does not want you to succeed. Surrounding yourself and your team with prayer partners is the single best thing you can do to ensure success.
Many church planters underestimate the amount of spiritual warfare they will face over the six to twelve months leading up to opening day. Prayer must be a priority for the church planter. In addition to personal prayer, the Church Planter should solicit a growing prayer team.
As a top priority, the Church Planter should form an initial prayer team with at least 10 people praying regularly for him. The Church Planter should especially approach those individuals who are known to be consistent prayer warriors.
To recruit the first 10 prayer team members, consider the following:
• Brainstorm at least 10 people who would be committed to praying for you and the new church
• Contact them about being on your prayer team
• Initiate some form of weekly communication with them with specific prayer requests.
Suggested initial prayer requests:
• You - You need God's wisdom, patience and strength
• Your family - specifically balance and health in your marriage and family
• Protection - Satan will attack you, your family, and anyone who wants to join you
• Vision - that God would guide your planning and give you a clear vision for the new church
• Launch Team - that God would provide the right people to form the core of the new church
• Finances - only God can provide
Many church planters underestimate the amount of spiritual warfare they will face over the six to twelve months leading up to opening day. Prayer must be a priority for the church planter. In addition to personal prayer, the Church Planter should solicit a growing prayer team.
As a top priority, the Church Planter should form an initial prayer team with at least 10 people praying regularly for him. The Church Planter should especially approach those individuals who are known to be consistent prayer warriors.
To recruit the first 10 prayer team members, consider the following:
• Brainstorm at least 10 people who would be committed to praying for you and the new church
• Contact them about being on your prayer team
• Initiate some form of weekly communication with them with specific prayer requests.
Suggested initial prayer requests:
• You - You need God's wisdom, patience and strength
• Your family - specifically balance and health in your marriage and family
• Protection - Satan will attack you, your family, and anyone who wants to join you
• Vision - that God would guide your planning and give you a clear vision for the new church
• Launch Team - that God would provide the right people to form the core of the new church
• Finances - only God can provide
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
1. Don’t apologize for preaching God’s Word about money.
You don’t apologize when you preach on prayer or grace or marriage. The only reason we preach on any of this is to help people.
Preach it with confidence!
Luke 16: 9-15
Jesus mentions “mammon” three times here.
If we don’t teach about money, who will?
Mammon is the spirit that rests on money. It promises what only God can give: security, peace, joy. All money has a spirit on it; either mammon or the spirit of God. The way we get the spirit of God is to redeem it by giving the first 10% to God.
It’s either cursed or consecrated. We need to teach our people there are consequences for disobedience to God.
2. Don’t apologize for preaching God’s Word about tithing.
I’m amazed when people say they’re not sure this is biblical. If I get mad at you, I can shoot you. I’m a Christian, and “thou shalt not kill” was under the law, so I don’t have to follow it.
NO!
The righteousness of grace always exceeds the righteousness of the law. Law says don’t kill, grace says don’t even be angry.
And tithing was around 2500 years before the law. It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden (you can have all the trees except that one).
Its about your heart. Exodus 23:19, Proverbs 3:9-10, Exodus 13:1-13
Jesus was both firstborn and first fruits. He is the clean animal for our uncleanness, sent to redeem us. Jesus is God’s tithe. He gave Jesus in faith that we would believe. Tithing is all about giving in faith.
Galatians 4:3-5: Cain didn’t bring first fruits.
God is not legalistic and neither am I. It’s about your heart.
3. Don’t apologize for preaching God’s Word about giving.
Tithing is not giving, it’s returning. You can’t give a tithe because it doesn’t belong to you.
(By the way it goes to the church where you’re being fed. And you can’t designate it, because it’s not yours.)
Tithing is returning to God what’s already his–it’s the training wheels of giving.
Matthew 7: the main topic is judging, not money “for with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:37-38: the main topic is judging; the word money isn’t here, either. But when people preach on this it’s on money. Can it apply to money? Secondarily. Primarily it’s about the attitude of your heart.
My pet peeve is not that we don’t know Greek, it’s that we don’t know English!
If you judge, you’ll get judgment back….pressed down and running over.
Luke 6:38 is not the motive for giving: we don’t give so we’ll get. It’s the reward for giving with the right heart.
Jesus is the noun of the Bible. Giving is the verb.
John 3:16…….you’re here today because Jesus gave his life for you. You’re here today because you gave your life to Jesus.
Exodus 13: giving your firstborn. When your son questions this, you remind him we weren’t always ranchers; we used to be slaves. But God delivered us, so we gladly give God the first of everything.
You don’t apologize when you preach on prayer or grace or marriage. The only reason we preach on any of this is to help people.
Preach it with confidence!
Luke 16: 9-15
Jesus mentions “mammon” three times here.
If we don’t teach about money, who will?
Mammon is the spirit that rests on money. It promises what only God can give: security, peace, joy. All money has a spirit on it; either mammon or the spirit of God. The way we get the spirit of God is to redeem it by giving the first 10% to God.
It’s either cursed or consecrated. We need to teach our people there are consequences for disobedience to God.
2. Don’t apologize for preaching God’s Word about tithing.
I’m amazed when people say they’re not sure this is biblical. If I get mad at you, I can shoot you. I’m a Christian, and “thou shalt not kill” was under the law, so I don’t have to follow it.
NO!
The righteousness of grace always exceeds the righteousness of the law. Law says don’t kill, grace says don’t even be angry.
And tithing was around 2500 years before the law. It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden (you can have all the trees except that one).
Its about your heart. Exodus 23:19, Proverbs 3:9-10, Exodus 13:1-13
Jesus was both firstborn and first fruits. He is the clean animal for our uncleanness, sent to redeem us. Jesus is God’s tithe. He gave Jesus in faith that we would believe. Tithing is all about giving in faith.
Galatians 4:3-5: Cain didn’t bring first fruits.
God is not legalistic and neither am I. It’s about your heart.
3. Don’t apologize for preaching God’s Word about giving.
Tithing is not giving, it’s returning. You can’t give a tithe because it doesn’t belong to you.
(By the way it goes to the church where you’re being fed. And you can’t designate it, because it’s not yours.)
Tithing is returning to God what’s already his–it’s the training wheels of giving.
Matthew 7: the main topic is judging, not money “for with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:37-38: the main topic is judging; the word money isn’t here, either. But when people preach on this it’s on money. Can it apply to money? Secondarily. Primarily it’s about the attitude of your heart.
My pet peeve is not that we don’t know Greek, it’s that we don’t know English!
If you judge, you’ll get judgment back….pressed down and running over.
Luke 6:38 is not the motive for giving: we don’t give so we’ll get. It’s the reward for giving with the right heart.
Jesus is the noun of the Bible. Giving is the verb.
John 3:16…….you’re here today because Jesus gave his life for you. You’re here today because you gave your life to Jesus.
Exodus 13: giving your firstborn. When your son questions this, you remind him we weren’t always ranchers; we used to be slaves. But God delivered us, so we gladly give God the first of everything.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Grow
Acts 2
1. Grow yourself first
This brings the balance. If you’re not growing yourself, you will get it out of whack. But if God is working in your life and you get away from numbers for their own sake and ministry is an overflow of the work God is doing, now you have something good.
2. Grow for the right reasons
Church growth has gotten a bad rap, because mixed in has been the egos and logos. But if we keep our hearts pure, the job our master has given us is to grow.
Luke 17:7-10: we are unworthy servants. The growth isn’t for us.
No one is more astonished about what’s going on at my church than me….because I know me. And I think that’s why God likes it–he’s looking for someone doing what they’re told to do.
3. Grow!
God needs us as his workers. This is not a game–we’re on assignment to make the biggest difference we can for eternity’s sake.
So how do we get it back in balance?
—-refocus on the Great Commission.
The social justice flow has gotten off kilter; we’re feeding bellies that are going to go to Hell. If you help someone, even in Jesus’s name, and we never win them to Christ, we lose! It is a tool to bring people to Christ.
—-keep score.
If people matter and people are numbers, then count everything. Measure it. Your team needs to know what matters and how to win.
—-if it’s not working, change it.
We cannot be committed to style, tradition, culture–we must be focused on results. I’m not saying results for us. It’s because Heaven and Hell are realities.
Here are three ways to change it:
1. Get rid of sacred cows
2. Learn from working models
3. Focus on the environment
You have to make sure you change the right thing. You can use methods and say it didn’t work; but without the right environment, nothing grows.
1. Grow yourself first
This brings the balance. If you’re not growing yourself, you will get it out of whack. But if God is working in your life and you get away from numbers for their own sake and ministry is an overflow of the work God is doing, now you have something good.
2. Grow for the right reasons
Church growth has gotten a bad rap, because mixed in has been the egos and logos. But if we keep our hearts pure, the job our master has given us is to grow.
Luke 17:7-10: we are unworthy servants. The growth isn’t for us.
No one is more astonished about what’s going on at my church than me….because I know me. And I think that’s why God likes it–he’s looking for someone doing what they’re told to do.
3. Grow!
God needs us as his workers. This is not a game–we’re on assignment to make the biggest difference we can for eternity’s sake.
So how do we get it back in balance?
—-refocus on the Great Commission.
The social justice flow has gotten off kilter; we’re feeding bellies that are going to go to Hell. If you help someone, even in Jesus’s name, and we never win them to Christ, we lose! It is a tool to bring people to Christ.
—-keep score.
If people matter and people are numbers, then count everything. Measure it. Your team needs to know what matters and how to win.
—-if it’s not working, change it.
We cannot be committed to style, tradition, culture–we must be focused on results. I’m not saying results for us. It’s because Heaven and Hell are realities.
Here are three ways to change it:
1. Get rid of sacred cows
2. Learn from working models
3. Focus on the environment
You have to make sure you change the right thing. You can use methods and say it didn’t work; but without the right environment, nothing grows.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
We are a mobile church…a church without a permanent home.
It comes with both pro’s and con’s. Let’s look at them…
Pro’s…
1. It helps us stay focused on “being the church”. Relationships are stronger and our sense of mission is strong. Our view of
what church is, is “people”, not “buildings”.
2. There is a natural anti-polarizing effect when meeting in a school, or a theater, or any public place. It’s neutral ground. It
challenges the view of what church is to the unchurched. Church buildings sometimes polarize “the Church” from “the
World” and the two don’t naturally collide with each other.
3. It forces us to be resourceful and creative. How do you create atmosphere in a high school cafeteria. It takes work to
eliminate distractions and create an environment where people can come and meet God. It’s amazing what curtains can
do!
4. It raises the bar of commitment in the people who are serving. It takes a lot of commited people that are willing to show
up several hours before the service to set everything up and then tear everything down, for a service that lasts 1 hour and
15 minutes. The volunteers understand that without their hard work and commitment, we wouldn’t be able to pull off
what we pull off.
5. It keeps us from being too comfortable. The more comfortable we are, the more complacent we become. It keeps us on
our toes, knowing that at any moment we might have to find a new meeting place.
Con’s…
1. It costs a lot of money to rent a school for a 1 hour and 15 minute meeting each week.
2. It costs even more money to have an office space or a place for ministry to happen during the week.
3. Unfortunately, sometimes your reputation as a viable church is measured by…if you have a building or not.
There are probably more pro’s & con’s, but these are the main ones for me.
Pro’s…
1. It helps us stay focused on “being the church”. Relationships are stronger and our sense of mission is strong. Our view of
what church is, is “people”, not “buildings”.
2. There is a natural anti-polarizing effect when meeting in a school, or a theater, or any public place. It’s neutral ground. It
challenges the view of what church is to the unchurched. Church buildings sometimes polarize “the Church” from “the
World” and the two don’t naturally collide with each other.
3. It forces us to be resourceful and creative. How do you create atmosphere in a high school cafeteria. It takes work to
eliminate distractions and create an environment where people can come and meet God. It’s amazing what curtains can
do!
4. It raises the bar of commitment in the people who are serving. It takes a lot of commited people that are willing to show
up several hours before the service to set everything up and then tear everything down, for a service that lasts 1 hour and
15 minutes. The volunteers understand that without their hard work and commitment, we wouldn’t be able to pull off
what we pull off.
5. It keeps us from being too comfortable. The more comfortable we are, the more complacent we become. It keeps us on
our toes, knowing that at any moment we might have to find a new meeting place.
Con’s…
1. It costs a lot of money to rent a school for a 1 hour and 15 minute meeting each week.
2. It costs even more money to have an office space or a place for ministry to happen during the week.
3. Unfortunately, sometimes your reputation as a viable church is measured by…if you have a building or not.
There are probably more pro’s & con’s, but these are the main ones for me.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Foods to include in your diet during the Daniel Fast
All fruits. These can be fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned. Fruits include but are not limited to apples, apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, cantaloupe, cherries, cranberries, figs, grapefruit, grapes, guava, honeydew melon, kiwi, lemons, limes, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, prunes, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, tangelos, tangerines, watermelon
All vegetables. These can be fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned. Vegetables include but are not limited to artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chili peppers, collard greens, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, ginger root, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, parsley, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, scallions, spinach, sprouts, squashes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, yams, zucchini, veggie burgers are an option if you are not allergic to soy.
All whole grains, including but not limited to whole wheat, brown rice, millet, quinoa, oats, barley, grits, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas, rice cakes and popcorn.
All nuts and seeds, including but not limited to sunflower seeds, cashews, peanuts, sesame. Also nut butters including peanut butter.
All legumes. These can be canned or dried. Legumes include but are not limited to dried beans, pinto beans, split peas, lentils, black eyed peas, kidney beans, black beans, cannellini beans, white beans.
All quality oils including but not limited to olive, canola, grape seed, peanut, and sesame.
Beverages: spring water, distilled water or other pure waters.
Other: tofu, soy products, vinegar, seasonings, salt, herbs and spices.
Foods to avoid on the Daniel Fast
All meat and animal products including but not limited to beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and fish.
All dairy products including but not limited to milk, cheese, cream, butter, and eggs.
All sweeteners including but not limited to sugar, raw sugar, honey, syrups, molasses, and cane juice.
All leavened bread including Ezekiel Bread (it contains yeast and honey) and baked goods.
All refined and processed food products including but not limited to artificial flavorings, food additives, chemicals, white rice, white flour, and foods that contain artificial preservatives.
All deep fried foods including but not limited to potato chips, French fries, corn chips.
All solid fats including shortening, margarine, lard and foods high in fat.
Beverages including but not limited to coffee, tea, herbal teas, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and alcohol.
All vegetables. These can be fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned. Vegetables include but are not limited to artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chili peppers, collard greens, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, ginger root, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, parsley, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, scallions, spinach, sprouts, squashes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, yams, zucchini, veggie burgers are an option if you are not allergic to soy.
All whole grains, including but not limited to whole wheat, brown rice, millet, quinoa, oats, barley, grits, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas, rice cakes and popcorn.
All nuts and seeds, including but not limited to sunflower seeds, cashews, peanuts, sesame. Also nut butters including peanut butter.
All legumes. These can be canned or dried. Legumes include but are not limited to dried beans, pinto beans, split peas, lentils, black eyed peas, kidney beans, black beans, cannellini beans, white beans.
All quality oils including but not limited to olive, canola, grape seed, peanut, and sesame.
Beverages: spring water, distilled water or other pure waters.
Other: tofu, soy products, vinegar, seasonings, salt, herbs and spices.
Foods to avoid on the Daniel Fast
All meat and animal products including but not limited to beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and fish.
All dairy products including but not limited to milk, cheese, cream, butter, and eggs.
All sweeteners including but not limited to sugar, raw sugar, honey, syrups, molasses, and cane juice.
All leavened bread including Ezekiel Bread (it contains yeast and honey) and baked goods.
All refined and processed food products including but not limited to artificial flavorings, food additives, chemicals, white rice, white flour, and foods that contain artificial preservatives.
All deep fried foods including but not limited to potato chips, French fries, corn chips.
All solid fats including shortening, margarine, lard and foods high in fat.
Beverages including but not limited to coffee, tea, herbal teas, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and alcohol.
Daniel Fast
Step 1: Be Specific Daniel was not vague in his objection to the Babylonian diet. He defined the problem immediately.
1. The king's food was against dietary laws.
2. Daniel and his friends had vowed against wine.
3. The king's food had been offered up to idols/demons.
Step 2: Fast as a Spiritual Commitment The Daniel Fast involves a spiritual commitment to God. "Daniel proposed in his heart that he would not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8).
Step 3: Reflect Inner Desire by Outer Discipline Many people have an inner desire for better health, but they can't discipline themselves to avoid junk food, and other foods that are not good for their health. The physical health you seek from God may be more than an answer to prayer. Your physical health can be linked to any of the following factors:
1. Your food choices.
2. The level of your spiritual commitment as reflected in constant prayer during the fast.
3. Your time commitment. If you determine to fast for a certain time, keep it. For example, if you determine to fast 10 days, don't stop on Day 9.
4. Your testimony commitment. Your fast is a statement of faith to God that you want Him to heal your body, and faith is foundational to the Daniel Fast.
Step 4: Pray to Perceive Sin's Role in Poor Health Notice James 5:13-16:
• Sin is something related to the cause of sickness.
• Lack of health/healing may be the result of spiritual rebellion.
• Lack of health/healing may be due to sin of wrong intake, i.e. drugs, pornography.
• Repentance is linked to health according to James.
• Elders have a role in healing both spiritual and physical health.
• Sick people must desire to be well
• The anointing oil could mean
1. Medicine for healing,
2. Symbolic of the Holy Spirit, or
3. It could be baptism
• Prayer alone may not gain healing, faith is the major factor.
• In Greek there are several words for "sick". James uses "Kanino", which not only includes disease, but also means weak or weary.
• Attitude is important. James said, "are there any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms."
Step 5: Fast as a Statement of Faith to Others Daniel was making a statement of faith when he asked for only vegetables to eat and water to drink, then dared the overseer to compare the appearance of the four sons of Israel with the young men who ate the king's food.
Step 6: Learn the Effects of the Food You Eat Why are some foods good for us, and other foods not? What does certain food do to your body? If we really knew, there would likely be some things we would never eat again.
Step 7: Yield All Results to God Daniel said, "as you see fit, deal with your servants" (Dan. 1:13).
1. The king's food was against dietary laws.
2. Daniel and his friends had vowed against wine.
3. The king's food had been offered up to idols/demons.
Step 2: Fast as a Spiritual Commitment The Daniel Fast involves a spiritual commitment to God. "Daniel proposed in his heart that he would not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8).
Step 3: Reflect Inner Desire by Outer Discipline Many people have an inner desire for better health, but they can't discipline themselves to avoid junk food, and other foods that are not good for their health. The physical health you seek from God may be more than an answer to prayer. Your physical health can be linked to any of the following factors:
1. Your food choices.
2. The level of your spiritual commitment as reflected in constant prayer during the fast.
3. Your time commitment. If you determine to fast for a certain time, keep it. For example, if you determine to fast 10 days, don't stop on Day 9.
4. Your testimony commitment. Your fast is a statement of faith to God that you want Him to heal your body, and faith is foundational to the Daniel Fast.
Step 4: Pray to Perceive Sin's Role in Poor Health Notice James 5:13-16:
• Sin is something related to the cause of sickness.
• Lack of health/healing may be the result of spiritual rebellion.
• Lack of health/healing may be due to sin of wrong intake, i.e. drugs, pornography.
• Repentance is linked to health according to James.
• Elders have a role in healing both spiritual and physical health.
• Sick people must desire to be well
• The anointing oil could mean
1. Medicine for healing,
2. Symbolic of the Holy Spirit, or
3. It could be baptism
• Prayer alone may not gain healing, faith is the major factor.
• In Greek there are several words for "sick". James uses "Kanino", which not only includes disease, but also means weak or weary.
• Attitude is important. James said, "are there any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms."
Step 5: Fast as a Statement of Faith to Others Daniel was making a statement of faith when he asked for only vegetables to eat and water to drink, then dared the overseer to compare the appearance of the four sons of Israel with the young men who ate the king's food.
Step 6: Learn the Effects of the Food You Eat Why are some foods good for us, and other foods not? What does certain food do to your body? If we really knew, there would likely be some things we would never eat again.
Step 7: Yield All Results to God Daniel said, "as you see fit, deal with your servants" (Dan. 1:13).
Saturday, January 30, 2010
We Are Excited!
Church at the Park is a brand new church location right here in the RTP
Area! On February 7, 2010 we will be kicking off our new launch series
entitled "Dream Again." We are so excited about the impact it will have
on your life and the RTP community!
Area! On February 7, 2010 we will be kicking off our new launch series
entitled "Dream Again." We are so excited about the impact it will have
on your life and the RTP community!
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