|
home |
about |
messages |
booking |
contact |
the real jesus |
register |
Q&A vidcast |
must read |
|
Believers and followers of Christ are exhorted not to shrink back but to endure to the end. Those overcome and keep their faith on Christ to the end reveal the reality that God is their God and they are the people of God. For God who promised is faithful.
The early Hebrews believers were exhorted to stand fast in the Lord. Christians today are exhorted to steadfast with the faith on Christ and looking forward to the promise that is set before us promised by God’s everlasting abiding confidence.
God’s children become mature and strong in Christ through trials and sufferings. The gift of faith and grace sustains God’s children through trials with joy and hope for the eternal reward and inheritance from God.
Sunday’s message on Hebrews 10:32-33: Remember the former days… A call to embrace our first love and to watch out for apostasy in our lives. Secure with confidence our faith in Christ who is our faithful High Priest!
This is part III of a a sub-series in the Hebrews series. As we looked over the last three weeks at this strong and harsh warning in Hebrews 10:26-31, we’ve dealt specifically with the warning of scorning Christ and the Gospel then defining the apostate and now this week dealing with Eternal Security and God’s Faithfulness in our calling and salvation. This mini-series has been a very difficult one for me personally and I am glad that God has used this text for my own growth and reflection.
God saves, holds and secures. We must reflect.
This message focuses on the true faith that is required in order to be truly saved. It’s warning number four of five thus far in the letter to the Hebrews.
Although this type of message is not popular, it’s a message that conveys the severity of unbelief and living in a ‘false hope’ of being saved without Christ alone as our Perfect High Priest and Sacrifice.
The sermon notes are below.
Ever wonder why the world seems to cover you up and makes life feel as though it could not get any worse? How many times have you just considered life and why we really here and what am I supposed to be doing? Forgetfulness may seem like a silly explanation for life’s hopelessness, but if you really look at ‘what’ we forget and what where we place our focus, we can see that we should really ‘remember’ to put our “Hope” in Christ!
1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (ESV)
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.Hebrews 10:23(ESV)
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
Over the next few months, I’ll discuss several ‘things’ that we forget about the Grace we’ve been given in Christ. One of the primary ways we forget and therefore experience hopeless despair is that we forget what’s important by focusing on what is not eternal.
When we find ourselves submersed in our own little world, thinking that everything is about ‘me’ it’s difficult to find Heavenly thinking and Eternal Value in our lives. “Eternal Value” is one of those buzz words that was taught to me by my grandparents through the years. It’s a little like ROI in the business world. What is going to be the “return on investment” for my actions, time, money or thoughts?
Our spiritual life is a lot similar in that we must give thought and consideration to our ROI but from an eternal perspective. For example, when we feel like things are just falling down around us, we must ask ourselves, “Is my worrying about or giving time to this have any eternal value?” Or when we are upset with someone or a certain situation and we sit and stew for days about a solution or just the principal. Is this really helpful and will it reveal to us more about who God is and who He wants us to be?
Eternal value can be defined by how God is Glorified. In essence He is most glorified in us when we are the most satisfied in Him. So before we go setting ourselves up for failure, we need to consider how we are going to Glorify God!
Job took a wonderful opportunity for a pity part and deep depression when his children were killed by the house falling in on top of them but proclaiming, “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” How silly it seems to say this, but Job understood eternal value and what glorifying God was all about.
God gives and takes away as He sees fit in His perfect will. So if we are in the will of God, no matter how painful, then we are to have JOY because it is the BEST for us and of course God is glorified. “But I’m not Job,” you might say. No, but you have the same ability and have been enabled for JOY just as Job was by the spirit of God.
Christ came to die a criminal’s death and face the wrath and eternal judgment of God on sin. A horrific but necessary point in history. Because of Christ’s obedience, He glorified God by finding JOY in God’s will even in His death and suffering.
There is so much more than needs to be said about this, but until next time: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2)
Consider your heavenly position in Christ instead of your earthly trials. Over the next few months, I’ll cover other areas that we tend to ‘forget’ and in turn, we find ourselves without joy, peace and most of all, hope!
Philippians 1:20-22 (ESV)
20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
We forget whose we are by focusing on who we are not…
We forget why we’re here by focusing on where we want to be…
We forget what we really have by focusing on what we don’t have…
We forget when we focus on us instead of Christ…
This is the root of despair. Hopelessness. Depression.
Life is going to be hard and for some of us, it will never let up. However, we can rejoice in Christ as the perfecter of our faith and our great high priest who is pruning us for righteousness and fitting us for God’s presence.
Health Revisited
“Friend, the church finds its life as it listens to the Word of God. It finds its purpose as it lives out and displays the Word of God. The church’s job is to listen and then to echo.” – Mark Dever
Over the last ten weeks we’ve taken a look at the details of a healthy church. We’ve discussed at length the definition of The Church, a Christian and many “Marks” of a healthy church. We’ve discovered that only in Christ Alone are we able to accomplish Health individually as well as corporately. For the purpose of this closure, I would like to leave you with some practical thinking on the matter of change for the cause of health.
In my own journey over the last 10 months, I’ve had to look at health in a serious light. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t something that I could just talk about but something with which I had to become disciplined in order to see its fruit.
In January of 2007, my weight and health was at an all-time low. I weighed in at 249 lbs wearing a tight 42” pant and could barely tie my shoes without losing my breath. At that time I was only 32 years old and had the energy level of a tortoise. I knew something had to change if I was going to live a fulfilled and obedient life in Christ. Today, as I pen this article, I have lost over 90 lbs and gone down over 10” in size and am stronger than I’ve ever been healthfully. My nutrition is pinnacle and I take very seriously anything that I consume as my body’s health is important and I will protect it at all cost.
In contrast, our spiritual health is something that we often overlook because there are so many other things pressing on us. In the light of my current physical journey to health, I’ve learned some principles that can apply to each of us in our spiritual health that will ultimately give us health as the Spiritual Family, Fellowship and Body of Christ we are called to be.
In order to truly see health, there are some basic truths that must be our concern:
1. CHOOSE. We must make a decision that health is important and we must then continue to ‘choose’ health. When my grandmother was ill with liver cancer, she would always state that she was ‘choosing life’. Without a decision to be healthy, nothing else we do will matter. In the sense of our recent view on a Healthy Church, we must be WILLING to make a decision to follow the Word of God in order to IMAGE God’s Glory as a family of believers.
2. CHANGE. Not only is our decision important but our WILLINGNESS to change must be central to our success at obtaining health. Without a DESIRE to change, there is little hope in seeing change. I love the quote, “If we don’t make some changes, we’ll stay the same.” I sort of hear a ‘duh’ coming after that statement, but so often we don’t see “GOOD Change” because we are making no change at all.
3. CHALLENGE. It’s going to be tuff, nothing worth having is easy or free, especially our growth in Christ. He paid for it with His Body and Blood so that we could afford His Grace. It was costly for Him but free for us. But it’s still a challenge. Physical fitness is hard work and spiritual fitness is even harder. Expect it and persevere in the power of Christ!
4. CHARGE. Charge others with a level of accountability. We cannot make in on our own and it’s not God’s design. Allow yourself to be accountable to someone in your daily life in Christ and in turn, be there for others. The great commission teaches us to MAKE disciples; in essence, we have to constantly be equipping and sharpening each other in our Faith.
5. CONSISTENT. This is self explanatory. Stay the course and keep focused. Health is a process that never ends but if we are to be healthy, we must stay consistent in our decisions and disciplines and not ‘give in’ to the popular views of the day.
6. COURAGE. Keep strong in the LORD and have courage to know that He is working in us and the Battle is HIS. We are charged with being stewards of the TRUTH we have been given and we must not give up but “FINISH the race,” as Paul says.
7. CHRIST. Last but surely not least. CHRIST is the center and He alone is the answer to our Health. His righteousness is given to us so that we can be Holy in the eyes of God. His power is given to us so that we can CHOOSE the right way. His PURPOSE is given to us so that we can be HIS BODY. We are to trust in CHRIST by faith so that we can share in His Glory as we IMAGE GOD in our lives as believers.
1 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)
8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”
In closing, be sure to PRAY and PRAY and PRAY. Pray that God will do a mighty work in YOU so that you will be healthy in him, then pray that God will continue His work in US and that we are obedient and open to the Spirit’s leading.
Today we ‘consider’ our Hope and why it is important to truly reflect on our hope in Christ.
Today we ‘consider’ our Hope and why it is important to truly reflect on our hope in Christ.
PDF notes on Healthy Church Series. This notes range from quotes from the 9Marks site to personal reflection and teaching outlines. Please use in conjunction with the MP3’s of the series.healthy-church-fbc-newark.pdf
I have had many requests for my notes/thoughts on the Hebrews series. So here are the notes, some brief, some thorough; for the first 28 weeks of Hebrews. They are 110 pages and are in PDF format. If interested, you can print, download etc.
MP3 messages are avail by clicking on the ‘message’ link in the nav bar if you so choose to listen while using the notes.
Outside my 8 minute introduction that could go elsewhere, this particular message is one that reflects on the work of Christ as mediator and High Priest. Hebrews 9:15-22
After an hour and 1/2, I had to just close my thoughts on this message. One key things that I did not get to discuss was the fact that an elder or deacon in a church is not ‘chosen’ then given responsibility, but are chosen out of their ‘current’ service and role.
In other words, someone who is already filling the role as a deacon in serving others and meeting the physical needs of the body and another who is filling the role as an elder in stewarding the spiritual oversight of the congregation, teaching and preaching are acknowledged and then appointed based on their current work.
A mentor of mine said years ago, “God won’t call a man to do anything he ain’t already doing.” He also stated that, “A man ain’t worth hiring for what he won’t do for free.”
I pray that this message will challenge your thinking on biblical deacons and biblical eldership.
One of the toughest subjects to preach is Church Discipline. Here we find that discipline actually roots itself in love and that God’s discipline is always good so in turn, our disciplining each other is good.
This week we discuss evangelism and how we should really accomplish this call in our lives.
“Sensitive” is a word that brings to mind many thoughts and images. Those words create in my mind certain feelings and those feelings give birth to decisions that result in an action of response. This post is a responsive action to the term “Sensitive”.
In a general sense, teeth are sensitive, feet are sensitive and our thoughts can be sensitive. But in relation to the Church, I am having a hard time reconciling the term and its relation to how the Body of The King of the Universe should ‘preach’ the message of the Gospel so that those who are unregenerate are enlightened.
OK, enough with the poorly developed sentences and run-on thoughts. My point is this: “Seeker Sensitive” philosophies are destroying the Body Of Christ (not really, but in image); weakening the Gospel; voiding Christ’s Atonement and leading a multitude of ’seekers’ to a false hope of accute faith. This faith gives birth to a confidence that lies to the soul that one can be “OK” with God. This confidence paves they highway to a Christless existence and future destruction by the wrath of God.
Now that I have that off of my chest, let me qualify several statements:
Sensitive is defined as “responsive to physical stimuli” and “being susceptible to the attitudes, feelings, or circumstances of others” The latter definition is what most organized groups of supposed believers (OGSB) use when they mean “Seeker Sensitive” or “sensitive to the local community and its needs.” The trouble happens when one moves from being aware of the attitudes, feelings or circumstances of others to forsaking what they know THESE people need in order to keep them happy, joyful, content or present. In essence, it is easy to ignore the TRUE need of repentance and Lordship for the silly notion that they will ‘find’ God if we make them comfortable.
2 Timothy 4:3 (NLT)
3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.
Destroying the Body of Christ: A strong phrase with a two-fold meaning. The OGSB is created when a group of people collect themselves under the pretense of Saving Faith in Christ and in reality, they hold no such faith. In turn, it puts a false church in the world that looks very similar to the real Body of Christ. Then by mere observation, the testimony of the true Church is being destroyed.
Colossians 1:10 (NLT)
10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.Weakening the Gospel: I don’t literally mean that the Gospel becomes weak… but the true message of God’s Grace becomes ineffective when people believe that ’service’ and ‘connection’ brings connection and justification to God. There is no record of true spiritual conversion by way of “activities” of the OGSB who ‘draw’ an unbeliever to a saving faith. This does not happen.
Paul deals with this sort of ‘false gospel’ with the Church in Galatia where the believers were ‘hexed’ and led astray by false teaching about salvation and the GOSPEL. Paul prescribes damnation and condemnation on anyone who teaches such things. Before one can label themselves as OK in this area, keep in mind that these purveyors of lies were in essence truly believing their lies. Similarly with the current philosophies of church growth and evangelism.
Voiding Christ’s Atonement: Now we all know that Christ’s Atonement cannot be voided, but for the purpose of illustration, these are the words we are going to use. When ‘another’ or ‘weak’ gospel is presented then in essence we are saying that Christ died in vain. For example: If one is able to come to Christ through personal desires and ’sensitive’ coaxing or offering them something other than Christ Alone and His Grace, then it IS another Gospel and has no power to save but rather condemn.
The “seeker” sensitive philosophy has called into question the very nature of the Body of Christ and has done more damage than it will ever do good. There is nothing Godly about trading truth for a false unity under the guise of ‘not offending’ someone so they will hear about Jesus.
If the scriptures are true, and they are, and if God is sovereign, and He is; then there is nothing else but Christ alone that saves… Christ ALONE through FAITH. God calls us to repentance and gives us the privilege to repent. The only MEANS available for repentance is Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross. The shedding of His blood brings peace with God.
If we don’t preach the full counsel of God’s Word then we are eliminating the only way to repentance and faith in Christ. It’s sad to think that any true Church would be wiling to forsake the teaching of our sinfulness for the cause of brotherhood.
OK With God? There is no doubt that we are NOT OK with God. At no time in history after Genesis 3 have we been OK with God. Paul teaches that ALL have sinned and that the just desert for our sin is death. Scripture teaches that God is HOLY and His glory is the most important aspect of His nature. His love for His glory is the measure of His majesty.
In other words, we exist solely to IMAGE God and HIS nature as revealed to us in scripture. When we do this, we are Glorifying Him to Him and to the world. When we don’t preach the Gospel in fear of what other ’seekers’ might think, then we are giving a false hope to many.
This false hope results in Christ saying, “Get away from me, I never knew you.” It’s time that the true body of Christ be bold for the Gospel and quit following the Willow Creeks of the world to a fuzzy, feel good farce of faith. (There’s a lot of F’s in there… that’s exactly what this philosophy of ministry gets, and F)
The writer of Hebrews talks to two audiences in the first six chapters. The two are ‘believers’ and ‘non-believers.’ He describes believers as those who are found in the grace of God and live obedient lives sold out to His purpose. The unbeliever is described as infants, immature idiots who THINK they have faith when in reality they are in no place to repent mainly because they have witnessed the things of God and tasted His goodness but have not trusted in His grace to save them.
This false hope and false belief leads their hearts to be hardened to the Gospel because their pride tells them they are saved because of their place and location among the saints. Hebrews states that it is impossible to turn someone of this nature to repentance again. We are not OK with God and in turn we are in need of God’s grace and repentance.
To further this issue, one of the nation’s largest congregations, Willow Creek Community Church, has felt the effects of this type of ’seeker’ outreach. After decades of massive numerical growth, a recent survey resulted in around 70% of their members stating that they have never grown in the depth of their faith.
There is much more to be said about this, but for the sake of my blog, I’ll keep it brief. Just google, Willow Creek Survey Results and you’ll get plenty of facts on the issue. My focus now is going to the so-called solution to the Willow debacle.
In a turn to ’shift’ their focus from numbers to knowledge, they have recruited Brian McLaren, a reknown poly-theist and false prophet, to lead their new campaign called “Shift”. Sadly, thousands of people are excited and flocking to the new focus at Willow.
Please friends, pray for this group of people and for the staff. I strongly believe that it was never anyone’s intent to become a measurable federation of people posing as believers, but in the name of ‘reaching and evangelism’ they have planted themselves with rootless foundations. I am going to research and write a full report of Brian McLauren in the next week or so.
Ephesians 2:11-12 (NLT)
11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.
12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.
This excerpt from Paul’s letter to Ephesus gives a good picture of our position in Christ BEFORE the Gospel and the power of His Word. We are lost, without hope. Most people are in this boat… I’ll say most as to not offend… and are in desperate need of Christ. If the church really believes this, they will take note of the power of God to change lives and relay the Gospel at ALL costs.
As for the Gospel, it’s not just a Roman’s road or a ’sinner’s spell’ to be chanted. It’s Christ in all His Glory! The invitation to repent is not a blurb at the end of a good self help message using the scripture as a guide tool, it’s the meat of the message in every part. God’s WORD is the GOSPEL from beginning to end. It’s time that the Body of Christ be the Healthy Church.
The church should be the church and not a drawing ground for ’seekers’ to find their way through the activities and programs of an institution. Let’s stay stupid and allow God’s wisdom to prevail.
A true CHURCH is blood related. A church reflects the wisdom of God.
Ephesians 3:10-11 (NLT)
10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Part 7 of 10 in the Healthy Church Series.
You hear “church growth” and “discipleship” all the time in church circles. What do those things mean and are they Biblical? How can a church truly experience growth and what kind of growth constitutes healthy growth?
Take a listen and look below to see the general teaching notes. You can see more about the healthy church from Dr. Mark Dever at www.9marks.org
