Recently, I've been listening to many sermons that seem to have similar messages. Recently I've been reading passages that have similar themes. Recently, I've been convicted more and more about my own sin, and more and more captivated by God's love. Recently, I've felt this grave need to share with those around me, the danger of coasting through the Christian life. The danger of not perservering.
I read chapters like Revelation 3:15-17 - "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."
Matthew 19:24 -"...it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Hebrews 6:4-6 - "It is impossible for those who have once become enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
Matthew 7:13-14 - "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
John 5:44 - "How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?"
2 Corinthians 5:10 - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Matthew 16:27 - "The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and will then recompense every person according to his deeds."
Revelation 22:12 - "Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to every person according to what he has done"
Romans 6:1-2 - "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
Philippians 2:12-13 - "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence -- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
James 2:26 - "Faith without works is dead."
Galatians 5:19-21 - "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
James 4:4 - "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."
John 5:29 - "An hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment."
Matthew 7:21-23 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"
This is just the tip of the iceberg where in the Bible, we see stern, strong warnings to people over and over again about the dangers of sin, the calls to repentance, and the reality of the fact that many people who profess faith are in fact not true believers.
This issue really hit me like a ton of bricks when I heard a sermon by Matt Chandler about 5 months ago. I can't remember the passage he was preaching on, but he went off on a little sidenote, and began to describe some "red flags" to watch out for. He said that if you say "yes" to these things, these are red flags that might prove that you aren't truly saved. He didn't say they were certainties, but warnings and causes to evaluate your life. Immediately, when I heard this, I got very worried. What if he says something that applies to me? Well, it'll probably be towards nominal Christians, and that's certainly not me...The first red flag: "Is there habitual sin in your life?" Crash!! Floored by the first point. Now by nature I think I have an addictive personality, and I've come to realize that and have since tried to develop practical ways to fight against that, but that doesn't excuse the fact that I do have sins in my life that seem to be constant struggles, and I very rarely win. Now Chandler was quick to distinguish habitual sin, from a struggle. I do believe that I did have a struggle, not just giving in, but to be honest, my struggle was pretty weak.
Well, needless to say, this sermon stuck in my head for a long time. It really shook me. I started re-evaluating everything. I started looking at how comfortable I had become with my sinful life. How normal it felt to me. After all, no one's perfect. And we're not saved by works, but by faith, so to worry too much about my sin would be disbelieving in the mercy and grace of God...so I thought...but after that sermon, I've been bombarded time and time again by pastors and passages that make it very clear that your life proves your commitment to Christ. I started looking at what Paul says in Romans 6:2 "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" Am I really dead to sin? Am I really living the life that the scriptures say a Christian will live?
And I had to come to a very harsh reality. If I continue to live the way I was living, I'm proving that my faith is dead, and not true. I'm proving that it has no effect on me. Now once again, this doesn't mean that I am trusting in myself to get right before God. I'm not saying that at all. There are I'm sure many times more verses that speak of the imputed righteousness of God to us than there are the verses I mentioned in the beginning. But I had to come to grips with the reality of my salvation. If I am truly saved, what does it look like?
Well first of all, I must acknowledge God in everything. That like Philippians 2:12-13, and 1 Corinthians 15:10 says, any good thing I do, any love for God that I have, any denial of sin and praise of Christ, comes solely through the grace of God who is at work in me. So right away, I am dismantling the idea that I can somehow attain a righteousness by works. Because any of my righteous acts come from God through faith in Christ. Anyone who would claim to be able to satisfy God's righteous wrath with their works needs only to be turned to Isaiah 64:6, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags..." So nothing in and of myself can earn me any merrit with God. We are saved by faith, not works.
But if that's the case, then where do works fit in? Why does James say that faith without works is dead. Why does Jesus say that those who did good deeds will arise to the ressurection of life, and those with bad deeds to a ressurection of judgement. In Romans 2:6 says, "God "will give to each person according to what he has done." Why, if we are justified by faith, does the Bible place so much emphasis on what we do?
The key to understanding this is realizing the correct order. Faith plus works does not equal salvation. Rather, faith produces good works. In a sense, our deeds are our proof of our faith and salvation. You can't have true saving faith without any fruit. A tree that does not bear any fruit is a dead tree. Piper describes is best this way by saying that the assurance of the genuiness of our faith is our perserverence to the end. That's why Hebrews 6 isn't saying that people can lose their salvation, but rather, if they fall away, they are proving that they were never really saved in the first place.
Now passages like Romans 2:6, John 5:29, and 2 Corinthians 5:10 present fairly untapped reservoirs of truth in my life, that I think some people might find offensive upon first glance. When it comes to the last judgement, the Bible I think is very clear that EVERYONE will be judged. Paul says WE must appear before the judgement seat in 2 Corinthians 5:10. Not just the unbelievers, but all people. Some people seem to think that God will just skip over the Christians, since they are declared righteous by Christ's atonement. But these passages seem to indicate something different. All of these passages mention our "deeds." They mention our works as the criteria for which we will be judged. That doesn't seem right does it? That doesn't sound like the message we're used to. So what does it mean then?
Please just read this excerpt from Piper's sermon. He explains it much better than I can.
That leads us to the second purpose of the judgment. The first, was that the judgment makes a public demonstration of the varying degrees of reward that Christians receive for the exercise of their faith in obedience. The second purpose of the judgment is to declare openly the reality of the faith and the salvation of God's people by the evidence of their deeds. Salvation is owned by faith. Salvation is shown by deeds. So when Paul says (in v. 10) we "will be recompensed . . . according to what we have done," he not only means that our rewards will accord with our deeds, but also our salvation will accord with our deeds.
Why do I think this?
Romans 2:5-7
There are numerous texts that point in this direction. One is in Paul's letter to the Romans (2:5-7) where he refers to "The revelation of the righteous judgment of God," and then says (in vv. 6-8), "[God] will render to every man according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality [he will render] eternal life; but to those who . . . do not obey the truth . . . [he will render] wrath and indignation." In other words, just as our text says, the judgment is "according to what a person has done." But here the issue is eternal life versus wrath.
"Faith Without Works Is Dead"
Several times Paul listed certain kinds of deeds and said, "those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). In other words when these deeds are exposed at the judgment as a person's way of life, they will be the evidence that their faith is dead and they will not be saved. As James said in James 2:26, "Faith without works is dead." That is what will be shown at the judgment.
Jesus' Words
Jesus put it like this—and he used exactly the same words for good and evil deeds that we have here in 2 Corinthians 5:10. He said (in John 5:29), "An hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment." In other words the way one lived will be the evidence whether one passes through judgment to life or whether one experiences judgment as condemnation.
He says this even though five verses earlier in John 5:24 he said, "Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes has eternal life." To hear and to believe is to have eternal life—it is by grace through faith. But when that faith is real—not dead—the life will change and Jesus can say, with no contradiction: the deeds of this life will be the public criteria of judgment in the resurrection. Because our works are the evidence of the reality of our faith. And it is faith in Christ that saves.
Back to me now. So as you see, "our works are the evidence of the reality of our faith. And it is faith in Christ that saves." So this is what I have been wrestling with over the past 5 months. Is my faith real? Does my life show it? And by the grace of God I can say that he has comforted me in this issue, and given me assurance. And by the grace of God I have come to realize that we MUST fight sin and make war against it, because eternal life DEPENDS ON IT!!! If I stop fighting, I'm proving my faith was never real. I've gotta run the race with endurance and perservere to the end, because if I wimp out half way through, it's like I never started to begin with. I gotta throw off every sin and encumberance that would keep me from running, because this is all that matters. I've gotta get MORE SERIOUS about my life. And by the grace of God I have gotten more serious. If you've been reading my blog hopefully you're aware of that. I just needed to say, "If Christ truly is living in me, and I truly have been made a new creation, and I am dead to sin and alive in Christ, that will make a difference, that MUST make a difference." I've gotta work out my salvation with fear and trembling. I've gotta.
Now lest you think that this has become me white-knuckling my fight against sin, just saying, "I'm not gonna sin, I'm not gonna sin!" Think again. This is not a fight I wage alone. No, I wage is with many weapons. I put on the full armor of God, and I wage it with God by my side. We can not say to ourselves, "I've gotta get this sin issue under control before I can come to God." No! God is saying, "Let's work together. Remember, I'm working in you to will and to act. Come to me and drink deep from the fountain of life."
Most importantly, I can't fight sin, unless I fight it in Christ, and here's what I mean by that:
"THE FIGHT AGAINST SIN IS A FIGHT FOR JOY IN CHRIST!"
God doesn't want begrudging obedience. Piper gave a great illustration of making his son wash his car before he could drive it. His son was furious at him, but did it anyway. Do you think Piper was happy with his son's obedience? Of course not, because it wasn't done in love. In the same way, God doesn't want our obedience to come from a place that isn't ultimately satisfied in Christ alone. David in Psalm 51 says "Restore unto me the joy of my salvation." Why? Because when that joy fades, he falls into sin. The more and more you become satisfied with Christ, the more and more repugnant sin becomes to you. And that's what I've realized. And so, I want Christ always. I need him always. I want to be completely satisfied in him alone, and if anything comes in my path that would lead me away from him, it's gotta go! There is nothing neutral in this life. As Chandler said, it's not an idea of right and wrong when it comes to what we can do. It's a matter of , "DOES THIS HELP ME RUN?" Does this draw me closer to Christ. If not, it's gotta go, because Christ is all that matters to me.
There's so much more I want to say. But I'll end with this. If I have become this aware of the danger of sin, the danger of being a lukewarm Christian, which Jesus is going to spit out, which means that a lukewarm Christian is really a lukewarm non-Christian, are others aware of this? Are others aware of the serious nature of our life, and how a fight against sin is a fight to preserve our lives! This isn't merely just so we can get a few more rewards in Heaven. This is about acceptance into Heaven! Now I don't deny that God will give more to those who have been more faithful, as the parable of the talents shows us, but that parable also shows us the danger of doing nothing with his gifts. As Matthew 25:30 says, "And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Does that sound like he was accepted into Heaven? It doesn't to me. And I'm afraid that so many people who confess Christ with their lips but deny with him their actions are in for a very terrible wake-up call on the judgement day. And as others have said, it's not like people want to go to Hell or are even perhaps aware of the fact that their faith is dead. People don't go to church every week because they think they're not really believers. And yet, many aren't. This is scary stuff. And as Piper says, he wouldn't be loving his church if he didn't show people that some of them were going to Hell. People hate to have their assurance threatened, but many many of us need that. Desperately. I know I did. I am so grateful to these men who have challenged me to see if my faith is really true. And by God's grace it is. But I needed that test to show me that it is. And if I slump back into laziness, I need another good slap in the face to say, "MARK!! Don't realize that this is going to lead you to Hell!!" Piper said that he counseled some guy who was in adultery and was unrepentant about it and had no plan to stop, and that's exactly what he told the guy. And the guy said, but I accepted Christ, so all my sins are forgiven. But he's showing that he never really accepted Christ to begin with.
And I'm afraid that way too many people are trusting in some prayer they prayed 10, 20, or 30 years ago, but that now, their lives show no evidence of it's effects. So recently, I've been trying to encourage my friends to be serious about pursuing Holiness. Serious about actively engaging with God everyday. Salvation is a relationship with God. How can you say you have salvation if you're never with God in prayer and the Bible? You can't. And yet so many people do. Oh how I weep for those who are headed to the place where God will say, "I never knew you." I feel this sense of urgency now. A similar urgency for those who have never heard of Christ. I feel the same urgency for those who grew up with Christ, and yet have never made it real.
One more thing that scares me is the lack of affection for Christ in most Christians. So often, I just want someone to share my affection for Christ, and I try to bring it up with people, and I just feel like so many are not getting me. Shouldn't it be that when one Christian is totally fired up about the things of God, the other Christian should resound with an Amen? Am I wrong on this? Am I expecting too much from people to want to engage on that level with me? And I'm not saying everyone doesn't, or that they should at all times. There are many factors to why sometimes they may not, but if they never do, that's definitely saying something about their heart. Now I am not saying that everyone I talk to is this way. In fact, I have so many Christian friends who encourage me in my faith and we are friends mainly because of our united heart for Christ. And I owe so much of my faith and life in Christ to the ministry of so many Christian friends in my life. They have helped my sanctification so much, and I would not be where I am today, unless I had an amazing group of Christians around me building me up. For those of you who have been my close brother and sister in Christ, your friendship is worth more to me than you can ever imagine, and I will praise God for eternity for bringing you guys into my life.
Now there once again is much more I want to say, but I've already written way too much as it is. I haven't even begun to talk about how community plays into this, and how much I've been pressed recently to realize the essential nature of community in the Christian walk. But anyway yeah, those are a few of my thoughts, and I hope that if you are in Christ, that you would take seriously the fight of faith, and to make your election sure (2 Peter 1:10)and encourage your brothers and sisters to do the same!
Here's a Piper clip about the heart of a Christian, and how our hearts should be oriented towards Christ if we truly are in Christ! Our affection should ultimately be for Christ.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Philippians 4:10-13 One of the best passages for me!
Philippians 4:10-13
10I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
The book of Philippians is my favorite book of the Bible. It fills me with so much hope. And that hope produces joy. And that joy gives me the faith to be totally free in Christ. Paul's character in Philippians is just so attractive, and I just want to strive to feel the way he feels in this book. I want to know Christ the way he knows Christ in this book. I want to have the joy he has. I want to have the humble confidence that he has. And right here I think is one of the best examples of Paul's character in the book.
Can I get an Amen that Paul is just the man here in these verses. It's like the world is secondary to him. It's not even a player in his life. He's in some other place spiritually that allows him to live more freely that I can even imagine. Now remember that Paul was in prison as he wrote this book. And yet in verse 11 he says, "I am not saying this because I am in need..." YES YOU ARE! YOU'RE IN PRISON! When was the last time someone went to a prison visit, and asked if they could help in any way, and the person was like, "no, I'm cool." Now I don't think Paul was oblivious or in denial. Logically, he knew that there were things that could be done to better his situation, and yet somehow he could live in a place in his heart where he could honestly say that he was not in need. Right now, I am in need every day! How far I am from the mind of Paul.
So why isn't he in need? How is it that he has somehow escaped his circumstances? Well, he says that he has "learned to be content whatever the circumstances." This concept is life-giving for me, and I want this to mark my life, and I think it should mark the life of any strong Christian. There should be a "godly-contentment" in Christ that is not conditioned on outward circumstances. That if Christ is the source of all life and all satisfaction in your life, and he will never dry up, then the contentment will never end. Though the waves crash around your life, your boat is safe. Your base is secure. Now on the surface this may seem like denial, and honestly, I don't know how this would look in many circumstances. I haven't experienced too many terrible trials such as death, persecution, poverty, and the like. But I don't think we're meant to know how it would look. I don't think Paul did. I don't think Paul thought to himself, "If I go to prison, this is how I will handle it." No, he just lived his life, and he dealt with things as they came. That's why he says he "learned" to be content. Contentment isn't something we can plan for, it's something that is painfully learned through years of walking with Christ. I can't predict the hardships that will come my way, and I think it's kind of pointless to try and prepare my heart for every single possible scenario. Instead, you live out this contentedness today! What does it look like to be content in Christ today? What does it look like tomorrow? How can I be more content in Christ today than I was yesterday? And through years and decades of this daily learning process, you build up to a contentment with Christ, so that when you are put in prison for the sake of the gospel, you can say with Paul that you have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
I'll tell you why for me, this concept and way of life is so freeing for me. It frees me from the responsibility to be "somebody." It frees me from the world's demand that I do things "their" way. That I find contentment in "their" outlets. I'll tell you, when you look at what the world is offering, it only leads to discontentment.
Let's look at my life outlook at this point. No future job prospects. No woman in my life. No car. No house. No this ... no that... There's a lot of things that the world has to offer, that I don't have!!! How disappointing. How discontent I should be. Right? Unfortunately many days, this is true. I fall into the snair that I need to be "somebody." I need to find the perfect wife. I need to have the most respectful job. I need to be liked and recognized by the most people. I need to be the most super Christian out there. These are things that do plague my thoughts, but they shouldn't. Who cares???????? I know other people don't care about those things for me. I know God isn't worried about me? So why should I be?
And thus, the freedom roles in. I can honestly say that in the past month, I feel that I have gotten a taste of this passage. I feel this bubble of protection around me, and that is God filling my life with his comfort and contentment. Even though life is tough, and even though I don't have all the things the world is offering me, I can honestly say I feel glimpses of this contentment that Paul speaks of. That my life is all about Christ. It's not about me. It's not about my fame or my glory. It's all about Christ's fame and his glory. I will make myself lower in order to make him higher. And to honestly desire that...that's a gift from God. But I can taste it. Really I can. I can taste this desire to make him the center, and make me an agent of glory reflection. So it doesn't matter what happens. So I can confidently say that I can "do everything through him who gives me strength." I can live for Christ, I can die for Christ. I can prosper for Christ, I can suffer for Christ. I can starve for Christ. I can be betrayed for Christ. I can love for Christ. No matter what, good or bad, sick or healthy, rich or poor, happy or sad, I live not for myself, but for the glory of Christ, and if you really take time to think about that, IT'S SO FREEING AND EMPOWERING! Take the weight off yourself, and put it on Christ. His yoke is easy. Giving your life to Christ, and really letting him take the wheel and drive for many might seem like such a sacrifice, but for me, I can't think of a better, more hopeful way to live. Now I don't deny or don't pretend to be oblivious to the real trials that Christians are called to face, but once again, it is God who is working in me, to will and to work all things for his good pleasure!
I heard John Piper talk about this passage. And he said he would ask his seminary students what they can do through Christ who strengthens them. They said the usual "good things." Then Piper said, "what about starve through him who gives me strength." All the students said, "no, no, that's not what it's talking about." But that's exactly the context of the passage. "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." How often have we heard this passage presented that way? Usually it's so fakely presented, and I think we all realize it. "I can fly to the moon through him who strengthens me!" "I can become the star basketball player through him who strengthens me." I mean you can just tell how much it's taken out of context when the passage is presented that way. But if we present it the way Paul is presenting it, then it's got some meat to it. I can "die" through him who strengthens me. That'll put some hair on your chest if you can believe that. It'll open up worlds of freedom for you to. That no matter what the circumstances, I can remain content in Christ who strengthens me. That I can press on and perservere through Christ who strengthens me. I don't know how else to live, than through the promises of God in passages like this. How else can you press on when life "happens." There's just too many bad things that happens to everyone for us to be naive enough to think that they won't happen to us as well. So we gotta have our foundation in something that is unchanging. We gotta have our faith in the one who says in Hebrews 13:5:
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
10I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
The book of Philippians is my favorite book of the Bible. It fills me with so much hope. And that hope produces joy. And that joy gives me the faith to be totally free in Christ. Paul's character in Philippians is just so attractive, and I just want to strive to feel the way he feels in this book. I want to know Christ the way he knows Christ in this book. I want to have the joy he has. I want to have the humble confidence that he has. And right here I think is one of the best examples of Paul's character in the book.
Can I get an Amen that Paul is just the man here in these verses. It's like the world is secondary to him. It's not even a player in his life. He's in some other place spiritually that allows him to live more freely that I can even imagine. Now remember that Paul was in prison as he wrote this book. And yet in verse 11 he says, "I am not saying this because I am in need..." YES YOU ARE! YOU'RE IN PRISON! When was the last time someone went to a prison visit, and asked if they could help in any way, and the person was like, "no, I'm cool." Now I don't think Paul was oblivious or in denial. Logically, he knew that there were things that could be done to better his situation, and yet somehow he could live in a place in his heart where he could honestly say that he was not in need. Right now, I am in need every day! How far I am from the mind of Paul.
So why isn't he in need? How is it that he has somehow escaped his circumstances? Well, he says that he has "learned to be content whatever the circumstances." This concept is life-giving for me, and I want this to mark my life, and I think it should mark the life of any strong Christian. There should be a "godly-contentment" in Christ that is not conditioned on outward circumstances. That if Christ is the source of all life and all satisfaction in your life, and he will never dry up, then the contentment will never end. Though the waves crash around your life, your boat is safe. Your base is secure. Now on the surface this may seem like denial, and honestly, I don't know how this would look in many circumstances. I haven't experienced too many terrible trials such as death, persecution, poverty, and the like. But I don't think we're meant to know how it would look. I don't think Paul did. I don't think Paul thought to himself, "If I go to prison, this is how I will handle it." No, he just lived his life, and he dealt with things as they came. That's why he says he "learned" to be content. Contentment isn't something we can plan for, it's something that is painfully learned through years of walking with Christ. I can't predict the hardships that will come my way, and I think it's kind of pointless to try and prepare my heart for every single possible scenario. Instead, you live out this contentedness today! What does it look like to be content in Christ today? What does it look like tomorrow? How can I be more content in Christ today than I was yesterday? And through years and decades of this daily learning process, you build up to a contentment with Christ, so that when you are put in prison for the sake of the gospel, you can say with Paul that you have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
I'll tell you why for me, this concept and way of life is so freeing for me. It frees me from the responsibility to be "somebody." It frees me from the world's demand that I do things "their" way. That I find contentment in "their" outlets. I'll tell you, when you look at what the world is offering, it only leads to discontentment.
Let's look at my life outlook at this point. No future job prospects. No woman in my life. No car. No house. No this ... no that... There's a lot of things that the world has to offer, that I don't have!!! How disappointing. How discontent I should be. Right? Unfortunately many days, this is true. I fall into the snair that I need to be "somebody." I need to find the perfect wife. I need to have the most respectful job. I need to be liked and recognized by the most people. I need to be the most super Christian out there. These are things that do plague my thoughts, but they shouldn't. Who cares???????? I know other people don't care about those things for me. I know God isn't worried about me? So why should I be?
And thus, the freedom roles in. I can honestly say that in the past month, I feel that I have gotten a taste of this passage. I feel this bubble of protection around me, and that is God filling my life with his comfort and contentment. Even though life is tough, and even though I don't have all the things the world is offering me, I can honestly say I feel glimpses of this contentment that Paul speaks of. That my life is all about Christ. It's not about me. It's not about my fame or my glory. It's all about Christ's fame and his glory. I will make myself lower in order to make him higher. And to honestly desire that...that's a gift from God. But I can taste it. Really I can. I can taste this desire to make him the center, and make me an agent of glory reflection. So it doesn't matter what happens. So I can confidently say that I can "do everything through him who gives me strength." I can live for Christ, I can die for Christ. I can prosper for Christ, I can suffer for Christ. I can starve for Christ. I can be betrayed for Christ. I can love for Christ. No matter what, good or bad, sick or healthy, rich or poor, happy or sad, I live not for myself, but for the glory of Christ, and if you really take time to think about that, IT'S SO FREEING AND EMPOWERING! Take the weight off yourself, and put it on Christ. His yoke is easy. Giving your life to Christ, and really letting him take the wheel and drive for many might seem like such a sacrifice, but for me, I can't think of a better, more hopeful way to live. Now I don't deny or don't pretend to be oblivious to the real trials that Christians are called to face, but once again, it is God who is working in me, to will and to work all things for his good pleasure!
I heard John Piper talk about this passage. And he said he would ask his seminary students what they can do through Christ who strengthens them. They said the usual "good things." Then Piper said, "what about starve through him who gives me strength." All the students said, "no, no, that's not what it's talking about." But that's exactly the context of the passage. "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." How often have we heard this passage presented that way? Usually it's so fakely presented, and I think we all realize it. "I can fly to the moon through him who strengthens me!" "I can become the star basketball player through him who strengthens me." I mean you can just tell how much it's taken out of context when the passage is presented that way. But if we present it the way Paul is presenting it, then it's got some meat to it. I can "die" through him who strengthens me. That'll put some hair on your chest if you can believe that. It'll open up worlds of freedom for you to. That no matter what the circumstances, I can remain content in Christ who strengthens me. That I can press on and perservere through Christ who strengthens me. I don't know how else to live, than through the promises of God in passages like this. How else can you press on when life "happens." There's just too many bad things that happens to everyone for us to be naive enough to think that they won't happen to us as well. So we gotta have our foundation in something that is unchanging. We gotta have our faith in the one who says in Hebrews 13:5:
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
God's sovereignty
It's funny how the word sovereignty has almost become a curse word in certain circles depending on who you talk to. How is it that an attribute of God would bring about such disdain and difficult feelings in the hearts of so many people. Why is it that "Calvinism" feels almost as naughty of a word among Christians, as the word "Christian" does among the world. Why do I feel increasingly isolated by what I see to be the only way to view the Bible accurately.
Now, with all of that said, I must say that I have had my own struggles with the sovereignty of God, just as the biggest supporters of it did, such as John Edwards. In fact, for literally 2 years, I became what felt like an insane Christian. I literally lost everything I felt like I knew about God. I remember it so vividly. I had just come home from literally one of the most amazing, goldy experiences of my life. I was talking to one of my Christian brothers, and it was one of those conversations where you knew that God was a third person in the conversation. It was like he was speaking through us. The Holy Spirit was present in that conversation in a way like never before in my life. I was saying things that caught me off guard, and my friend as well. As I drove home that night, I praised God thanking him for all the blessings he gave me. And all of a sudden, it hit me. "Why me?" "Why did God choose me and not any other Joe out there as undeserving as me?" And literally, on that night, I felt like I lost my perception of God. From that point on God seemed unfair to me.
I went on for two years in college in red hot pursuit of answers. I talked to pastors, mentors, parents, friends, anyone I could to get some clarity on the topic. I read every verse supporting both sides. I read books. I read sermons. I listened to sermons. I did everything I could think of. I laid in bed on many nights, unable to sleep, wanting to scream, pleading with God to give me peace about the situation. I just wanted to see God in the right way. For me, I just couldn't see him as loving anymore in his exclusiveness. For 2 years I went to church and felt foreign there. I felt like I was missing something that everyone else was experiencing.
But the reason I just didn't turn "Arminian" as it were, was because I couldn't escape what the Bible said. What the Bible says pretty much everywhere. I mean, most people will point to Romans 9 and use that as their baseboard (and a good one it is) as their argument, but when I look at the Bible, it's in the very nature, the air of the Bible. The Bible oozes the sovereignty of God. From the very beginning, God sovereignly at work in everything. He hardens Pharoh's heart, again and again and again. What others meant for evil towards Joseph, GOD meant for good. He is clearly sovereign over the entire story of Job, and when Job questions God's motives and sovereignty, God lectures him for 3 chapters saying, "Where were you...? Who are you...?" In John 3:8, Jesus says referring to the Holy Spirit, "The wind blows wherever it pleases." And of course, Romans 9, which I will leave to you to read and see for yourself how plain things are. Just the entire feel of the Bible attributes EVERYTHING, good or bad, to the sovereign ordaining of God. Even the very presence of sin itself is because God ordained it. Everything that lead up to the cross is because God willed it. If God didn't ordain each sin involved in the crucifixion of Jesus, we wouldn't have the gospel, because it would no longer be God punishing his son for our sins. It would merely be coincidence that he died, not by the hand of God. If you want, now would be a good time to go to the bottom to watch the Piper clip on this, it's really really powerful.
With all of that said, in my 2 years of turmoil over this issue, I couldn't escape the truth of God's sovereignty, and the fact that the Bible has no qualms about it. It doesn't try to apologize for God's sovereignty, it just excepts it. And no one in the Bible complains about it either. Job says, "Shall I accept good from God, and not trouble?" Job's saying, it's all from God. The good and the bad. And he accepts it.
So for 2 years I labored, but I never gave up, because I knew that God was doing this for a reason, and I knew he would lead me out of the pit eventually. I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, it was just very dim. But I trusted that if this was true, and if I was a true Christian, that eventually God would reconcile my heart to this issue. And honestly, I don't know how, or when it happened. But I can say that after 2 years, I have come from fearing this doctrine, to embracing and loving it with my very essence. Now this doesn't mean that I have forgotten the qualms I had against it, but I now know why I had those qualms, and I know how to argue against them if they arise in my soul.
First, I was desperately helped by a Mark Driscoll sermon in a series on "Religion Saves: and Nine other misconceptions." He published a book based on that series by the same title. He described everything so well. He described our sin, our responsibility, God's will and his intervention in such a good, simple, easy to understand way. And it just reaffirmed so much for me, and from then on, it's been a healing process for me.
From there, I went on to hear a sermon by John MacArthur about the existence of Sin in the world, and God's hand in that. And after that sermon, I knew it was either all the way embracing of this doctrine, or I have to get out of Christianity all-together. It's either embrace the God that these men are showing me in the Bible, or go athiest. And so I embraced this God, and WORLDS of truth, grace, and comfort have opened up to me.
Here is I think, the biggest problem and obstacle I had to accepting this biblical view of God. First and formost is that I was sitting in the judgment seat, and I was judging God. We all do this. We see something and we blame God for it. We see something, and we accuse God of doing wrong. This is straight up blasphemy, but it's all too common. We are basically accusing a Holy God of sinning. But that's what I was doing. And as John Piper has pointed out, he thinks one of the main reasons that God has allowed us to know about God's sovereignty is so that we would get out of the judgment seat and let God take his rightful place as judge. I mean think about it. God didn't have to let us know he's in control. He could have kept that hidden. And then in the end reveal that it was him all along. But he chose to reveal that aspect of his nature to us. Why? Well for one reason, so that we would learn to trust completely in his revealed nature, and stop questioning him. That like Job, we would be quiet, and repentantly say, "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know."
And another reason why God chose to reveal this to us, is because if we embrace this, we embrace a centrally God-focused view of the world. If God is in complete control of the world, you have to have a God centered view of everything. Anything else begins to slip into deism in one form or another. The reason an Arminian will be so difficult to win over to "Calvinism" as it were (which I believe is just another word for saying, "seeing the Bible correctly") is because it requires a change of their lense that they see the world through. It is the biggest worldview shift you can make as a Christian. You go from an individualistic culture like America, where it's all about me me me, and you say, it's not about me AT ALL. It's all about Christ. The very reason I'm alive is to glorify Christ. And I will either glorify God in my accepting Christ and glorifying his mercy, or I will glorify Christ in God's righteous justice and judgment of sin being served. But either way, every single person on the earth was born to glorify God, and every single person, whether they like it or not, will glorify God. Pharoh did. Pilote did. God even said countless times, "I'm hardening Pharoh's heart for my glory." Pharoh sinned, and God was glorified in his judgment of Pharoh's sin. If that's not a worldview shift, I don't know what is.
So with that said, I am trying at least, to be gracious to those who might not like this doctrine of grace at first glance. Looking at my own history, it took me two years to settle the matter with any kind of peace. Then thinking about the actual weight of what it means to accept these truths is another big issue. As John Piper says, we've gotta take our eyes, and soak them in some gospel acid for us to see the world correctly.
And this is really the other big thing. With guys like Piper, Driscoll, Chandler, Mahaney, Mason, MacArthur, Spurgeon, Edwards, Lewis, Calvin, and many others, I just gotta be on this team. And this team is totally all about the sovereignty of God. They breath it in their sermons. They live by it. It's Piper's main mission in life. To spread a passion for the glory of God!!!!! You can't spread a passion for the glory of God without worshiping him for his sovereignty. You can't worship a God you can't rely on. You can't worship a God you can't say works ALL THINGS FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM. That means the good the bad, and the ugly, it all worked, by God, sovereignly, for our good. And upon embracing this doctrine, wave after wave after wave of comfort, enligtenment, strength, worship, and Christ-centered satisfaction have fallen upon my life. I live by this doctrine. I love this doctrine of grace. I live each day affirming it. Knowing that nothing I bring to the table gets me anywhere. The very faith in which I possess, is a gift given to me, by God.
Now I am not saying that if you don't embrace this, that you're not a Christian. I know many Christians that argue very strongly with me. But I would say that I think they are missing a huge piece to who God is, and that their lives would be totally, radically changed if they could embrace this.
With that said, here is one of just literally 1000s of amazing sermons that I've heard that affirm this truth, and make me love it all the more. It's only two minutes long, but you see Piper's passion for God's sovereignty, and it echoes the growing passion that has been welling up in me!
Now, with all of that said, I must say that I have had my own struggles with the sovereignty of God, just as the biggest supporters of it did, such as John Edwards. In fact, for literally 2 years, I became what felt like an insane Christian. I literally lost everything I felt like I knew about God. I remember it so vividly. I had just come home from literally one of the most amazing, goldy experiences of my life. I was talking to one of my Christian brothers, and it was one of those conversations where you knew that God was a third person in the conversation. It was like he was speaking through us. The Holy Spirit was present in that conversation in a way like never before in my life. I was saying things that caught me off guard, and my friend as well. As I drove home that night, I praised God thanking him for all the blessings he gave me. And all of a sudden, it hit me. "Why me?" "Why did God choose me and not any other Joe out there as undeserving as me?" And literally, on that night, I felt like I lost my perception of God. From that point on God seemed unfair to me.
I went on for two years in college in red hot pursuit of answers. I talked to pastors, mentors, parents, friends, anyone I could to get some clarity on the topic. I read every verse supporting both sides. I read books. I read sermons. I listened to sermons. I did everything I could think of. I laid in bed on many nights, unable to sleep, wanting to scream, pleading with God to give me peace about the situation. I just wanted to see God in the right way. For me, I just couldn't see him as loving anymore in his exclusiveness. For 2 years I went to church and felt foreign there. I felt like I was missing something that everyone else was experiencing.
But the reason I just didn't turn "Arminian" as it were, was because I couldn't escape what the Bible said. What the Bible says pretty much everywhere. I mean, most people will point to Romans 9 and use that as their baseboard (and a good one it is) as their argument, but when I look at the Bible, it's in the very nature, the air of the Bible. The Bible oozes the sovereignty of God. From the very beginning, God sovereignly at work in everything. He hardens Pharoh's heart, again and again and again. What others meant for evil towards Joseph, GOD meant for good. He is clearly sovereign over the entire story of Job, and when Job questions God's motives and sovereignty, God lectures him for 3 chapters saying, "Where were you...? Who are you...?" In John 3:8, Jesus says referring to the Holy Spirit, "The wind blows wherever it pleases." And of course, Romans 9, which I will leave to you to read and see for yourself how plain things are. Just the entire feel of the Bible attributes EVERYTHING, good or bad, to the sovereign ordaining of God. Even the very presence of sin itself is because God ordained it. Everything that lead up to the cross is because God willed it. If God didn't ordain each sin involved in the crucifixion of Jesus, we wouldn't have the gospel, because it would no longer be God punishing his son for our sins. It would merely be coincidence that he died, not by the hand of God. If you want, now would be a good time to go to the bottom to watch the Piper clip on this, it's really really powerful.
With all of that said, in my 2 years of turmoil over this issue, I couldn't escape the truth of God's sovereignty, and the fact that the Bible has no qualms about it. It doesn't try to apologize for God's sovereignty, it just excepts it. And no one in the Bible complains about it either. Job says, "Shall I accept good from God, and not trouble?" Job's saying, it's all from God. The good and the bad. And he accepts it.
So for 2 years I labored, but I never gave up, because I knew that God was doing this for a reason, and I knew he would lead me out of the pit eventually. I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, it was just very dim. But I trusted that if this was true, and if I was a true Christian, that eventually God would reconcile my heart to this issue. And honestly, I don't know how, or when it happened. But I can say that after 2 years, I have come from fearing this doctrine, to embracing and loving it with my very essence. Now this doesn't mean that I have forgotten the qualms I had against it, but I now know why I had those qualms, and I know how to argue against them if they arise in my soul.
First, I was desperately helped by a Mark Driscoll sermon in a series on "Religion Saves: and Nine other misconceptions." He published a book based on that series by the same title. He described everything so well. He described our sin, our responsibility, God's will and his intervention in such a good, simple, easy to understand way. And it just reaffirmed so much for me, and from then on, it's been a healing process for me.
From there, I went on to hear a sermon by John MacArthur about the existence of Sin in the world, and God's hand in that. And after that sermon, I knew it was either all the way embracing of this doctrine, or I have to get out of Christianity all-together. It's either embrace the God that these men are showing me in the Bible, or go athiest. And so I embraced this God, and WORLDS of truth, grace, and comfort have opened up to me.
Here is I think, the biggest problem and obstacle I had to accepting this biblical view of God. First and formost is that I was sitting in the judgment seat, and I was judging God. We all do this. We see something and we blame God for it. We see something, and we accuse God of doing wrong. This is straight up blasphemy, but it's all too common. We are basically accusing a Holy God of sinning. But that's what I was doing. And as John Piper has pointed out, he thinks one of the main reasons that God has allowed us to know about God's sovereignty is so that we would get out of the judgment seat and let God take his rightful place as judge. I mean think about it. God didn't have to let us know he's in control. He could have kept that hidden. And then in the end reveal that it was him all along. But he chose to reveal that aspect of his nature to us. Why? Well for one reason, so that we would learn to trust completely in his revealed nature, and stop questioning him. That like Job, we would be quiet, and repentantly say, "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know."
And another reason why God chose to reveal this to us, is because if we embrace this, we embrace a centrally God-focused view of the world. If God is in complete control of the world, you have to have a God centered view of everything. Anything else begins to slip into deism in one form or another. The reason an Arminian will be so difficult to win over to "Calvinism" as it were (which I believe is just another word for saying, "seeing the Bible correctly") is because it requires a change of their lense that they see the world through. It is the biggest worldview shift you can make as a Christian. You go from an individualistic culture like America, where it's all about me me me, and you say, it's not about me AT ALL. It's all about Christ. The very reason I'm alive is to glorify Christ. And I will either glorify God in my accepting Christ and glorifying his mercy, or I will glorify Christ in God's righteous justice and judgment of sin being served. But either way, every single person on the earth was born to glorify God, and every single person, whether they like it or not, will glorify God. Pharoh did. Pilote did. God even said countless times, "I'm hardening Pharoh's heart for my glory." Pharoh sinned, and God was glorified in his judgment of Pharoh's sin. If that's not a worldview shift, I don't know what is.
So with that said, I am trying at least, to be gracious to those who might not like this doctrine of grace at first glance. Looking at my own history, it took me two years to settle the matter with any kind of peace. Then thinking about the actual weight of what it means to accept these truths is another big issue. As John Piper says, we've gotta take our eyes, and soak them in some gospel acid for us to see the world correctly.
And this is really the other big thing. With guys like Piper, Driscoll, Chandler, Mahaney, Mason, MacArthur, Spurgeon, Edwards, Lewis, Calvin, and many others, I just gotta be on this team. And this team is totally all about the sovereignty of God. They breath it in their sermons. They live by it. It's Piper's main mission in life. To spread a passion for the glory of God!!!!! You can't spread a passion for the glory of God without worshiping him for his sovereignty. You can't worship a God you can't rely on. You can't worship a God you can't say works ALL THINGS FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM. That means the good the bad, and the ugly, it all worked, by God, sovereignly, for our good. And upon embracing this doctrine, wave after wave after wave of comfort, enligtenment, strength, worship, and Christ-centered satisfaction have fallen upon my life. I live by this doctrine. I love this doctrine of grace. I live each day affirming it. Knowing that nothing I bring to the table gets me anywhere. The very faith in which I possess, is a gift given to me, by God.
Now I am not saying that if you don't embrace this, that you're not a Christian. I know many Christians that argue very strongly with me. But I would say that I think they are missing a huge piece to who God is, and that their lives would be totally, radically changed if they could embrace this.
With that said, here is one of just literally 1000s of amazing sermons that I've heard that affirm this truth, and make me love it all the more. It's only two minutes long, but you see Piper's passion for God's sovereignty, and it echoes the growing passion that has been welling up in me!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
CJ Mahaney is a wellspring of powerful messages
I've heard a lot about CJ Mahaney, and have listened to brief excerpts by him. But recently I decided to get a couple of his sermons and listen to them, and I really appreciate all that I've heard him say. He says things in a way that you know he's convicted about them, but at the same time, in a huge way, he says everything in love. Everything he says you feel like he's telling you because he loves you and wants to see you grow.
A couple things he said that really stuck out to me were actually quotes from Spurgeon, so perhaps this should be more about Spurgeon than Mahaney, but they were merely illustrations that proved his point. None-the-less, these quotes were what stuck out to me most in his messages. The first message I listened to was on how to "Preserve Pastors." And mentioned how Spurgeon said at one point "Whitefield and Wesley might preach the gospel better than I can, but they cannot preach a better gospel!" This is so humbling and so comforting. That while yes there are people more gifted at preaching, speaking, persuading, and talking, the power of the gospel does not depend on their talent. It is powerful enough as is. So that no matter how bumbling my speech may be, no matter how boring I may present the gospel to someone, if I am faithful in proclaiming the truth, the Holy Spirit will work! This gives me hope as I seek to use my words to help others see Christ.
In another sermon I heard on not conforming to worldliness, Mahaney was saying how this generation of Christians in America doesn't face persecution from the world, but seduction. And he quoted Spurgeon again. Now remember that Spurgeon was writing in the 19th century, in a time that can not be compared in it's scope the amount of pressure worldliness has on our lives today. But Spurgeon, even at that time said something along the lines of "the church is so ineffective at influencing the world because it is being too influenced by the world." Piper has said similar things about being "IN" the world, but not "OF" the world. Piper makes it clear that this lifestyle is walking a razor's edge. That to cut yourself off from the world, you fall off one side, and to embrace the sin of the world, you fall off the other. And he says, most Christians struggle to walk that edge. He said a good way to test yourself is exactly what Spurgeon said. Are the people you are seeking to influence being more influenced by you, or are you being more influenced by them. Sadly in my life, I fear that I have been too easily seduced by the world. By things that are contrary to God. Piper says in another place that he feels that the next generation (my generation) of Christians is amazingly well-studied and theologically sound. There is a zeal for doctrine that has been absent in previous generations. But along with that, there is a lack of discernment when it comes to the open-handed embracing that our generation has had with the world. We just love soaking in it's sin. Piper calls it "dangling wires" that this generation has. That we love the Word and theology, but alongside of that, we love the world. For me, I see historically this being an all too accurate assessment in my life, and something that has taken years of reflection and distance from God to realize how dangerous the effects of bedding down with the world really are.
Mahaney went on to talk about another man who wrote a book about an experience this man had with an Amish person. With many interesting and at times humorous moments, he sought to show how completely out of place this Amish man was with the culture. And Mahaney was saying that this is exactly how the world should see Christians. Now not saying that we should adopt the Amish lifestyle or theology, but in the sense that we are so counter-cultural and so firm in our beliefs and so concerned about holiness, that we just walk to the beat of a different drum, and we look different. This also doesn't mean that we should be ignorant of culture either. But in our lives, we need to ask ourselves, how different do we look from our neighbors, apart from Sunday morning? Or have we been seduced by the same sinful temptations that capture the hearts of every other man? This is my battle. This is my burden.
Lastly, Mahaney gave an amazing sermon on the "Cup of Christ." This is something I have come back to thinking about countless times over the past years, and it becomes more and more staggering and real to me each time I revisit the scene, particularly at Gethsemene. Mahaney in this clip, which has had music and visual images added to it, gives a powerful depiction of what Christ went through in preparation for going to the cross. I also heard an amazing sermon on prayer by Driscoll, where he dives into the prayer of Jesus before the cross. This is, the garden that is in the context of what follows it on the cross, for me perhaps, the most gripping, heart-wrenching display of Jesus' love for us in the Bible.
A couple things he said that really stuck out to me were actually quotes from Spurgeon, so perhaps this should be more about Spurgeon than Mahaney, but they were merely illustrations that proved his point. None-the-less, these quotes were what stuck out to me most in his messages. The first message I listened to was on how to "Preserve Pastors." And mentioned how Spurgeon said at one point "Whitefield and Wesley might preach the gospel better than I can, but they cannot preach a better gospel!" This is so humbling and so comforting. That while yes there are people more gifted at preaching, speaking, persuading, and talking, the power of the gospel does not depend on their talent. It is powerful enough as is. So that no matter how bumbling my speech may be, no matter how boring I may present the gospel to someone, if I am faithful in proclaiming the truth, the Holy Spirit will work! This gives me hope as I seek to use my words to help others see Christ.
In another sermon I heard on not conforming to worldliness, Mahaney was saying how this generation of Christians in America doesn't face persecution from the world, but seduction. And he quoted Spurgeon again. Now remember that Spurgeon was writing in the 19th century, in a time that can not be compared in it's scope the amount of pressure worldliness has on our lives today. But Spurgeon, even at that time said something along the lines of "the church is so ineffective at influencing the world because it is being too influenced by the world." Piper has said similar things about being "IN" the world, but not "OF" the world. Piper makes it clear that this lifestyle is walking a razor's edge. That to cut yourself off from the world, you fall off one side, and to embrace the sin of the world, you fall off the other. And he says, most Christians struggle to walk that edge. He said a good way to test yourself is exactly what Spurgeon said. Are the people you are seeking to influence being more influenced by you, or are you being more influenced by them. Sadly in my life, I fear that I have been too easily seduced by the world. By things that are contrary to God. Piper says in another place that he feels that the next generation (my generation) of Christians is amazingly well-studied and theologically sound. There is a zeal for doctrine that has been absent in previous generations. But along with that, there is a lack of discernment when it comes to the open-handed embracing that our generation has had with the world. We just love soaking in it's sin. Piper calls it "dangling wires" that this generation has. That we love the Word and theology, but alongside of that, we love the world. For me, I see historically this being an all too accurate assessment in my life, and something that has taken years of reflection and distance from God to realize how dangerous the effects of bedding down with the world really are.
Mahaney went on to talk about another man who wrote a book about an experience this man had with an Amish person. With many interesting and at times humorous moments, he sought to show how completely out of place this Amish man was with the culture. And Mahaney was saying that this is exactly how the world should see Christians. Now not saying that we should adopt the Amish lifestyle or theology, but in the sense that we are so counter-cultural and so firm in our beliefs and so concerned about holiness, that we just walk to the beat of a different drum, and we look different. This also doesn't mean that we should be ignorant of culture either. But in our lives, we need to ask ourselves, how different do we look from our neighbors, apart from Sunday morning? Or have we been seduced by the same sinful temptations that capture the hearts of every other man? This is my battle. This is my burden.
Lastly, Mahaney gave an amazing sermon on the "Cup of Christ." This is something I have come back to thinking about countless times over the past years, and it becomes more and more staggering and real to me each time I revisit the scene, particularly at Gethsemene. Mahaney in this clip, which has had music and visual images added to it, gives a powerful depiction of what Christ went through in preparation for going to the cross. I also heard an amazing sermon on prayer by Driscoll, where he dives into the prayer of Jesus before the cross. This is, the garden that is in the context of what follows it on the cross, for me perhaps, the most gripping, heart-wrenching display of Jesus' love for us in the Bible.
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