vassal of the King

a helpful plan for BIBLE READING and EVANGELIZING.

2012-01-26T11:55:00.001-08:00

So a fellow pastor may ask: "how do I get out on the street and start open-air preaching?"

I would reply by saying that an option would be to take what you read this morning in God's Word and go out and proclaim that text, exposit it, apply it, enlighten it, and show how that text fits into the greater redemptive plan of God.

For instance, this morning if you read Exodus 13-14 you could go on the streets and proclaim the Exodus account and how God demanded the blood of an innocent animal in order to pass over His people. But those who were not covered with blood were destroyed by the angel of death.

Furthermore, if you studied Matthew 26 and examined the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas, the heartfelt prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the evil plotting of the Jews to put Christ on the cross, one could go on the streets and talk about the wretchedness of sinners and the pervasiveness and extremities of our sins. Indeed, Christ died for our sins. One could preach on how Christ prayed to the Father in the Garden because He knew that the infinite wrath of God Almighty was about to be poured out upon Him on Calvary's tree. Preach propitiation! Preach justification! Preach Christ's substitutionary death in the place of god-hating rebels.

Ah, but you say that you're not a preacher. Then I would beseech you to take what you read in the mornings and try to bring those texts or topics up in daily conversation with people (lunch break, coworkers, on the streets, on the subway, etc.).

If we are in God's Word every day and God's Word speaks to our own hearts, we can also try to bring these texts, chapters, themes, and gospel-truths to bear as we interact with others throughout each day.

Try it. Pray about it. See how God begins to open opportunities for you to share the gospel & what you read that morning with folks who desperately need the gospel.

premillennialism in the early church

2012-01-25T18:56:00.000-08:00

Here are some early Christian writers who held to premillennialism:

Clement of Rome (c. 30-95AD)
Of a truth, soon and suddenly shall His will be accomplished, as the Scriptures also bear witness, saying, 'Speedily will He come, and will not tarry,' and the Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Holy one, for whom ye look (First Letter to the Corinthians, 23).

Let us then wait for the kingdom of God from hour to hour in love and righteousness, seeing that we know not the day of the appearing of God (Second Letter to the Corinthians, 12).

Didache (c.100AD)
And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first, the sign of an outspreading in heaven; then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and the third, the resurrection of the dead; yet not of all (16:6-7).

Shepherd of Hermas (c.140-150AD)
You have escaped from great tribulation on account of your faith, and because you did not doubt the presence of such a beast. Go, therefore, and tell the elect of the Lord His mighty deeds, an say to them that this beast is a type of the great tribulation that is coming (Visions, 1.4.2).

Polycarp (c.70-155AD)
If we please Him in this present age, we shall receive also the age to come, according as He promised to us that He will raise us from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, 'we shall also reign with Him.'

Adapted from Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation, 233.

the rampant nature of PORN and the urgency of teaching & educating our children (and churchgoers) of the heineousness of this sin.

2012-01-25T12:29:00.001-08:00

From some research on Teens and Porn, mark the following startling (!) statistics:

93% of boys and 62% of girls are exposed to internet porn before the age of 18.
70% of boys have spent more than 30 consecutive minutes looking at porn.
35% of boys have done this on more than ten occasions.
23% of girls have spent more than 30 consecutive minutes looking at porn.
14% of girls have done this on more than one occasion.
83% of boys and 57% of girls have seen group sex on the internet.
69% of boys and 55% of girls have seen porn showing same-sex intercourse.
39% of boys and 23% of girls have seen online sex acts involving bondage.
32% of boys and 18% of girls have seen beastiality on the internet.
18% of boys and 10% of girls have seen rape or sexual violence online.
15% of boys and and 9% of girls have seen child pornography online.

NOTE: That means that only 3% and 17% of girls have never seen internet pornography.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

go and MAKE DISCIPLES — the great commission.

2012-01-24T04:40:00.001-08:00

Here's an interesting point to remember regarding the Great Commission & our evangelism:

Matthew 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Matthew 28:18-20 18 καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. 19 πορευθέντες οὖν μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, 20 διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος.

Last week I heard a sermon from Kevin DeYoung on the Mission of the Church & he argued that the mission of the Church is the great commission. That should be our foremost focus. I agree with him in this regard. But he made a passing statement that caught my ear & I think it is worthy of mention.

The importance of this commission given by Jesus to His followers cannot be overestimated. He calls His followers to go into all the world and make disciples (μαθητεύσατε). Isn’t it interesting that Jesus used that word for the mission of His followers? Speaking to this, Kevin DeYoung note that “Jesus said ‘Go and make disciples!’ He did not say ‘Go and get decisions!’” I think there is something to this.

Often Christianity in today’s culture seeks to get decisions for Christ and count the number of people that at a camp, a service, a retreat, or a public rally make a “decision” for Jesus Christ. And yes, becoming a Christian does—and it must!—include an intellectual knowledge of Christ and His work on the cross and a determined effort to follow Him as Lord and Savior. But at the same time, a “decision” for Christ does not make someone saved. A one-time choice does not validate someone’s conversion. Search the Bible. Search the New Testament. You won’t find it.

What is it, then, that shows or validates whether someone is truly saved? If someone is walking in holiness, obeying Jesus Christ, and bearing Godly fruit, then his election is sure (cf. 2 Pet 1; 1 Thess 1:4). And this is precisely what our Lord states in the Great Commission. Go and make disciples. And this mission to make disciples involves teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. A true disciple is one who obeys Jesus Christ. A true follower of Jesus Christ is one who determines to follow Christ and it is one who is evidencing the sovereign regeneration in his heart by walking in purity, holiness, godliness, and the enjoyment of God.

Would it be that in our church ministries and as you evangelize with others that we would be less concerned with “decisions” and much more concerned with ongoing, life-on-life, honest discipleship where the sinner who repents of sin and believes in Christ then grows in Christ, matures in Christ, and increases in sanctification thus being conformed more and more to the image of Jesus Christ.

the importance of family worship & how to do it.

2012-01-19T07:31:00.001-08:00

January is FAMILY WORSHIP month and I want to piggy-back on that and express my heartfelt commitment to this biblical & historical means of grace. I believe that family worship is eminently important.

We are told in God's Word that the husband IS the head of the home (Eph 5:22-25) and that he is to shepherd and wash his wife with God's Word (Eph 5:25ff). He is to instruct and teach his children in the truth (Eph 6:4). This practice of teaching, instructing, and even catechizing children goes back in history to God's people, Israel (cf. Deut 6:5ff).

On our church website, I posted a brief video as to the importance of FAMILY WORSHIP and how we as a family do family worship in our home. It must be deliberate or the business of life will crowd it out. But when it becomes a habit it becomes part and parcel of who you are as a family & it is well worth the effort, time, & diligence!

I have posted on this topic earlier here and here. See this also and my brief article here.

your duty is to proclaim the JESUS of the bible. no other Jesus will do.

2012-01-16T04:53:00.000-08:00

From John Stott:

Our responsibility in evangelism is neither to create a Christ of our own who is not in Scripture, nor to embroider or manipulate the Christ who is in Scripture, but to bear faithful witness to the one and only Christ there is as God has presented him to the world in the remarkably unified testimony of both the Old and the New Testament Scriptures.

FROM: John Stott, Christian Mission in the Modern World, p.74.

i'm overwhelmed by this. and you should be too.

2012-01-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

This following excerpt is amazing.

The purpose of God is "absolute and unconditional, independent of the whole finite creation, and as originating solely in the eternal counsel of His will. God is seen as the great and mighty King who has appointed the course of nature and who directs the course of history even down to its minutest details. His decree is eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign.

It extends not merely to the course of the physical world but to every event in human history from the creation to the judgment, and includes all the activities of saints and angels in heaven and of reprobates and demons in hell. It embraces the whole scope of creaturely existence, through time and eternity, comprehending at once all things that ever were or will be in their causes, conditions, successions, and relations.

Everything outside of God Himself is included in this all-embracing decree, and that very naturally since all other being owe their existence and continuance in existence to His creative and sustaining power.

It provides a providential control under which all things are hastening to the end of God's determining . . . . Since the finite creation through its whole range exists as a medium through which God manifests His glory, and since it is absolutely dependent on Him, it of itself could originate no conditions which would limit or defeat the manifestation of that glory. From all eternity God has purposed to do just exactly what He is doing.

He is the sovereign Ruler of the universe and 'does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?' Dan 4.35. Since the universe had its origin in God and depends on Him for its continued existence it must be, in all its parts and at all times, subject to His control so that nothing can come to pass contrary to what He expressly decrees or permits. Thus the eternal purpose is represented as an act of sovereign predestination or foreordination, and unconditioned by any subsequent fact or change in time."

(From: Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 13-14). Man, I had to read that a few times yesterday and again today & my heart is uplifted in worship.

talk about a distraction while you're preaching!!!

2012-01-12T05:38:00.000-08:00

Gideon Ouseley, an open-air preacher in Ireland in the 18th century was preaching one day in the open fields and then the account is told:

"He closed his [opening] prayer, and began to preach; but evidently his audience were not disposed to hear him. Before many sentences had been uttered, missiles began to fly--at first not of a very destructive character, being refuse--vegetables, potatoes, turnips, etc., but before long harder materials were being thrown--brickbats and stones, some of which reached him and inflicted slight wounds. He stopped, and, after a pause, cried out, 'Boys dear, what's the matter with you to-day? Won't you let an old man talk to you a little?'

Quoted in Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p.248.

I must admit — I've never had that happen while I was preaching. Maybe I'm not preaching hard enough or out in the 'open-air' enough, then.

the prerequisite for seeing the glory of the gospel

2012-01-11T20:25:00.001-08:00

There is an obviously universal thrust of condemnation found in Rom 1:18 and 32.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Romans 1:32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Thus, these verses make clear:

"that this foolish and culpable rejection of the knowledge of God is repeated in every generation, by every individual. Every person is 'without excuse' because every person—whether a first-century pagan or a twentieth-century materialist—has been given a knowledge of God and has spurned that knowledge in favor of idolatry, in all its varied manifestations. All therefore stand under the awful reality of the wrath of God, and all are in desperate need of the justifying power of the gospel of Christ.

We will never come to grips with the importance of the gospel, or be motivated as we should be to proclaim it, until this sad truth has been fully integrated into our worldview."

From: Douglas Moo, Romans, NICNT, p.98.

the book of REVELATION in a few words...

2012-01-10T11:32:00.000-08:00

From John Phillips:

"One day, however, [Jesus] is coming back with His glory unveiled to smash the opposition of the world and to wield a scepter of iron. He is coming back in pomp and power to reign backed by the hosts of heaven. His deity, manifest even now to the eye of faith, will blaze forth like flaming lightning then. In the book of Revelation, the Person of Christ is unveiled, and we are given view after view of that glorious Man who fills all heaven with His praise" (from Exploring Revelation, 12).

RESOLVED 2012

2012-01-08T19:37:00.001-08:00

If you have not been to the RESOLVED conference, I strongly encourage you to check it out — and then do whatever possible to get out there! — as it is a highlight of the year for me & my wife, Elizabeth.

Solid preaching, gospel-centered truth, deep conversations, awesome music, great fellowship, and lots of fun all describe the RESOLVED conference weekend.

Here are a few highlight videos:

Resolved 2011, Day 1 from Resolved on Vimeo.

And Can It Be . . .

2012-01-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

From Charles Wesley:

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Amazing love how can it be?
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

That is filled with remarkable and endless truth to ponder as you live today. See a video of Enfield singing "And Can It Be" at RESOLVED here.

Prayer & Fellowship THIS Friday

2012-01-03T14:14:00.000-08:00

Hey CFBC family,

Let's meet at the Kirkland's Home at 7:00pm this Friday for a time of prayer & fellowship. We'll have a time to prayer for our unsaved friends & family, for the church, for each other, & a time of focused fellowship as we enjoy gospel-centered conversation together.

If you have any questions, check out the church website.

See you there!

the preaching of john the baptist.

2012-01-03T03:35:00.000-08:00

Have you ever realized what kind of message John the Baptist preached? If you read the biblical account of how John preached and what he said, I doubt many churches nowadays would welcome him to fill the pulpit — much less be their pastor!

The very first words we have of him comes in Matt 3:2 where he calls all the people who come to hi in the wilderness of Judea to "repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (μετανοεῖτε· ἤγγικεν γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν). Not only was he a little funny looking (Matt 3:4) but he was a prophet of the Lord. He was called to prepare the way for the Lord (Matt 3:3).

Meanwhile, "many" of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to him and he initiates conversation with them and says the following:

1. You men are a "brood of vipers" (γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν)
2. Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath (φυγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς μελλούσης ὀργῆς)?
3. Bear fruit worthy of repentance (ποιήσατε οὖν καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας)!
4. Do not think to say to yourselves: "we have Abraham as our father." (That is, they would pride themselves and find comfort knowing they are reconciled to God simply because they are Jews.)
5. The axe is already laid at the root of the tree & every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (ἤδη δὲ ἡ ἀξίνη πρὸς τὴν ῥίζαν τῶν δένδρων κεῖται· πᾶν οὖν δένδρον μὴ ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλὸν ἐκκόπτεται καὶ εἰς πῦρ βάλλεται).
7. The one who comes after me will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
8. The winnowing fork is in His hand and He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the storehouse but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire (συνάξει τὸν σῖτον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην, τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ)!

NOTE: in John the Baptist's message of proclamation in preparation for the Messiah, a number of key elements are found:

1. The call to repent!

2. The acknowledgement that there is only One Savior & Deliverer — Jesus, the Coming One.

3. There is such a thing as "coming wrath" — and it's harsh and just!

4. It does no good to try and come to God on your own terms (social identity, religious identity, morality, etc.).

5. The evidence of true salvation is "bearing good fruit." And if NO good fruit is borne, then that person is thrown into the unquenchable fire.

6. The hope for true believers, however, is that those who do bear "good fruit" evidencing that true regeneration and change has taken place are surely to receive the blessing of being gathered into the storehouse of the Lord — eternal bliss & blessing.

This is the gospel. I wonder how many of these elements are absent in much preaching in our culture? Let's be faithful to proclaim the truth as we learn from John the Baptist.

CFBC SUPER STUDY — Fri, Dec 30th

2011-12-29T14:31:00.000-08:00

Join us for CFBC's Super Study.

Friday, Dec 30th @ Pastor Geoff's house | 7-9pm.
Our topic is: Is the Bible Really Sufficient for All of Life?

Bring your questions for a time of discussion & examining God's Word to see how God's Word speaks to various issues.

Five particular areas of how God's Word is currently being attacked will be the primary focus of the time. Join us; bring your friends; and your questions.

It will be recorded and you'll be able to listen to & download it from our church website.

what things does GOD hate?

2011-12-28T03:51:00.001-08:00

Let's take heed to this text of Scripture which God gives to His people:

Zechariah 8:16-17 16 'These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. 17 'Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I HATE,' declares the LORD."

GUESS where this picture was taken?

2011-12-27T04:10:00.001-08:00

Can anyone guess where this picture was taken?

the duty of the parents to shepherd & teach their children.

2011-12-26T05:48:00.001-08:00

Hear this exhortation from the 18th century but it is certainly just as relevant now as it was then:

"It is to parents that the injunction is delivered, "thou shalt teach these words to thy children diligently, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house," and, "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." No pastoral attention should be intended, nor can be adapted, to supersede or interfere with this solemn parental obligation. But the pastor should labour to the uttermost to urge and keep the parents of his flock up to the right discharge of their duty.

There are few of us who are not sorrowfully convinced that little is too be expected from our sermons in the pulpit, or our instructions in the class-room, while all our endeavours are so miserably counteracted by the neglect of domestic instruction, and the want of parental solicitude. It is not intended to justify pastoral neglect by advancing the obligations of parental duty, for perhaps we all have been, and are, guilty of a criminal defect of duty, in not giving more of our time and attention to the children of our congregations; but even the time and attention we do give, is likely to be lost, through the low state of religion in the homes and some of our people.

We might very naturally expect that our churches would be chiefly built up from the families of our members; whereas the greater number of accessions are from those who were once the people of the world. There is a great mistake on this subject, into which both parents and ministers have fallen; and that is, that the conversion of the children of the professor is to be looked for more from the sermons of the minister, than from the instructions of the parent; whereas the contrary is the true order of things; and if domestic piety and teaching were what they ought to be, it is the order which would be found to exist. There is unquestionable truth in the proverb: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Were the nature and design of the domestic constitution thoroughly understood, and its religious duties early, judiciously, affectionately, and perseveringly discharged, the greater number of our young people would be converted to God at home. Were all religious professors who are parents, real and eminent Christians; were they, from the time they became parents, to set their hearts upon being the instruments of their children's conversion; were they to do all that prayer, instruction, discipline, and example could do, for the formation of the religious character of their offspring; and were they carefully to abstain from every thing which would obstruct that end, it might be confidently expected that it would be within the hallowed precincts of such homes, and not in the sanctuary, that the children of the godly would usually become godly themselves. It should then be, and will be, an object with every truly earnest pastor, to bring up the parents in his church to a right sense and faithful discharge of their functions."

So convicting & it drips with biblical authority, truth, and persuasiveness! Let us be faithful parents to train up our children in the ways of the LORD with all vigilance and earnestness!

From John James, An Earnest Ministry, 154-56.

the PERFECT husband (men--brace yourselves)

2011-12-26T04:39:00.001-08:00

From James Smith (mid 19th. century):

Jesus loved, labored, suffered, bled, died, rose, ascended, and intercedes--to save His people from their sins! He is the perfect husband who . . .
brings us into marriage-union with Himself,
provides for all our necessities, and
assures us of His unalterable love!
He gives us . . .
His arm to support us,
His fullness to supply us,
His name to entitle us,
His robe to cover us,
His angels to guard us,
His Word to assure us, and
His Heaven to be our habitation at last!

Now this must launch us to Ephesians 5:25ff where we learn that, as husbands, we must strive to love our wives just as Christ loves His own.

How are YOU doing with this kind of shepherding, kind, selfless, protective, God-centered husbanding?

go to church on CHRISTMAS morn. THIS is the way to show your priority to Christ & worshipping Him!

2011-12-23T12:49:00.000-08:00

From a pastor to the men of his congregation. I think it is absolutely right on.

====================

Men,

I can’t believe how ridiculous this is, but I am writing tonight to urge you to take your families to church on Sunday, December 25th. Before it is a holiday, before it is a family gathering, before it is anything else it is a Sunday: a day set aside by God himself to worship. It is a day that your elders have called the church together to worship. It is a day that you should be actively planning to take your family to church.

There is no excuse, not one, for not taking your family to church on Sunday. There may be some of you who will be out of town; find a church and take your family there. There will be some of you who are in town; you know where and when we meet. There is no reason for missing church on Christmas Day. In fact, a good argument can be made that of all the days to worship God, we should worship on Christmas Day. If we do not you are telling your family, your wives, your children, and your neighbors that Christmas isn’t really about Jesus at all. It will instead be about you, your family, your traditions, gifts, parties–everything that you will spend the next 12 months complaining about.

Some of you are part of extended families who have already made plans. Let me offer this piece of advice: be a man. Man up and tell your extended family that you are looking forward to seeing them and spending time with them but first you will take your family to church. It is your duty as a husband and father; it your responsibility; it is also your privilege.

This morning we read of King Ahaz in Isaiah 7 who despised the promise of the presence of God. It is easy for us to sit in judgment of the stupidity and hubris of Ahaz. But are you in danger of doing much the same thing? God promises to meet you and your family when you worship him. What possible reason can you have for turning away from that promise? What message does that send to your children?

I didn’t think I would have to write this email, but after several different conversations with people who could go to church on Christmas but are not going to, I felt I had no choice. It is my divine duty to call you out. This is not the life of discipleship that you are called to; this is not the obedience that you are obliged to; this is not what I want the men and potential leaders of _______ to be known for.

Go to church.

Pastor _____

HT: Out of the Horse's Mouth

preach the word in & out of season illustrated by the prophet AMOS.

2011-12-19T04:28:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 4:2 — preach the word; be ready in season and out of season (κήρυξον τὸν λόγον, ἐπίστηθι εὐκαίρως ἀκαίρως)

Amos, the prophet from Tekoa in Southern Israel, was called by God to prophesy doom and judgment upon the people of Northern Israel because of their social injustice, false & idolatrous worship, and wickedness.

He just warned Israel through visions (ch.7) that God would come and severely judge His people. Then in 7:9 Amos said that the high places will be desolated, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste, and God will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

A prophet named Amaziah then went to King Jeroboam II and said that Amos has conspired against him (7:10, 11). Then Amaziah the prophet responded to Amos and said:

Amos 7:12-13 — Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! "But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence."

Amos was not wanted in Bethel. The rich, the famous, the powerful, & the royal wanted nothing to do with Amos nor the Word from the LORD. This is the example of preaching "out of season" — when the Word of God is not wanted.

But Amos replied saying that he is not a prophet, nor a son of prophet (not from a prophetic lineage) but rather the Lord sovereignly took Amos from shepherding the flock & God commanded him to go prophesy to the people Israel (7:15).

I love the contrast in the following verses:

v.16 - Amaziah the prophet says that you shall not prophesy or speak against the house of Israel.

v.17 - But the Word of the Lord says that: (1) Amaziah's wife will become a harlot; (2) his sons & daughters will die; (3) the land will be parceled up by a measuring line & you will die on unclean soil; and (4) Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.

Amos faithfully preached God's Word even when it was not wanted — he preached the Word when it was "out of season." May we so learn from Amos & do the same!

Merry Christmas from the Kirkland Fam

2011-12-15T05:30:00.001-08:00

(sorry about the kids sticking out their tongues;
who taught 'em that??)

new chapter; new ministry; new location; same GOSPEL.

2011-12-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday afternoon, our family made a transition in our life & ministry. After a decade of being in LA, a new ministry opportunity opened up to serve as pastor of Christ Fellowship Bible Church in St. Louis.

After packing the moving truck, getting our car shipped, renting a car, and a two-day R&R at a beach-house, we all finally arrived in St. Louis last night where my parents happily met us & drove us to their house.

Today we go to our rental house which, in God's providence, is very close to the church we'll be meeting at so that we can have a walk through with our property manager. Then the moving truck arrives so we can unload everything.

I'm still working on my sermon for this Sunday but the text is on 2 Timothy 3:16-17—one of the most important texts in all of the Bible.

Elizabeth and I are excited to church-plant, ready to see God's power at work in ways that we never anticipated, expectant of many trials and hardships, and an overwhelming commitment to biblical, gospel-centered, Christ-exalting ministry at CFBC.

If you're in the STL area, come join us for the following upcoming events:

Sunday, December 18th @ 9:30am (STL Marriott West Hotel)
Sunday, December 25th @ 10:00am (Kirkland House)
Friday, December 30th @ 7:00pm for our Super Study (Location TBD).

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

(I will also post it in the Greek because of the emphatic wording: Τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ ὑπὲρ πάντα ποιῆσαι ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ ὧν αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν, 21 αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν.)

yes — the Bible says that God not only hates SIN but the SINNER.

2011-12-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

"You hate all workers of iniquity!" Psalm 5:5

"It is not a little dislike--but a thorough hatred which God bears to workers of iniquity. To be hated by God is an awful thing. O let us be very faithful in warning the wicked around us, for it will be a terrible thing for them to fall into the hands of an angry God!" Charles Spurgeon

"What a vile thing is sin, which makes the God of love and Father of mercies--into an enemy to His creatures; and which could only be purged by the blood of the Son of God!" Thomas Adams

"Not only the work--but worker of iniquity also becomes the object of His hatred." William Gurnall

"Those whom the Lord hates, must perish. What is more due to such impenitent sinners, than hatred? What is more proper than wrath--since they treasure up wrath? Will He entertain those in the bosom of His love--those whom His soul hates? No! Destruction is their portion. What is that which Christ hates? As Christ hates iniquity, so also the "workers of iniquity." David Clarkson

"If God's hatred is against the workers of iniquity--then how great is it against iniquity itself! If a man hates a poisonous creature--he hates poison much more. The strength of God's hatred is against sin--and so should we hate sin, and hate it with all our strength! Sin is an abomination unto God--let it be so unto us!" William Greenhill

This is a hard text to conceive of because it goes totally against everything that our culture blasts in our face about our self-worth and self-worship. Nevertheless, it is in the Bible. There is no way around it.

It is only when that sinner — who once was hated by God — is saved by God regenerating him & by repenting of his sin that he is transferred from being an enemy of God (=being hated by God) to being a friend of God (=being sovereignly loved by God).

Oh what a motivation for evangelism, prayer, & earnest pleading with sinners to repent & believe the gospel!

a theological prayer from daniel — do we pray like this?

2011-12-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

You know the story. Daniel 2 recounts the historical situation where King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon requested that the "wise" men of his empire reveal the dream and the interpretation that was troubling him. Obviously, they couldn't do it. So the King's order remained. All the wise men are to be killed because of their inadequacy to fulfill the King's command.

But Daniel heard about this and went before the King and asked for some time so that he may make known the interpretation of the King's dream.

Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision (2:19). *NOTE* the very first thing Daniel did was to pray to the Lord and acknowledge God's utter sovereignty.

He did not (first!) run and tell the king so as to save his life. He could have (and, perhaps, many of us would have done that). But he rather took the time to pray and acknowledge that it was God who revealed the dream and its interpretation.

In Daniel's prayer (2:20-23), some amazing theological truths are mentioned:

1. God and His "Name" (=character, being, attributes) are to be praised forever (2:20a).

Not Nebuchadnezzar and his "power", but the God of Israel and His intrinsic and sovereign power is to be praised!

2. Wisdom and power belongs only to the God of Israel (2:20b).

Nebuchadnezzar thought he was quite strong & impenetrable but true wisdom and power resides only with the one, true God of heaven!

3. God and God alone is the one who can change seasons, kings, and empires according to His prerogative (2:21a).

As God will reveal to Nebuchadnezzar, it is God who sets up kings and tears them down. It is God who raises empires and destroys them. All according to His will.

4. God gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding (2:21b).

Nebuchadnezzar's servants couldn't reveal the dream and its interpretation to the King. In fact, they acknowledged this when they said: "there is not a man on earth who could declare the matter to the king (2:10).

5. It is God who can reveal the profound and hidden things. Even darkness cannot be hidden from Him; only light dwells with Him (2:22).

Even the inner thoughts of Nebuchadnezzar cannot be hidden from God. Even that which he didn't even understand was understood plainly and comprehensively by God. Nothing is darkness to God.

6. God is worthy of all thanks and praise (2:23a).

Nebuchadnezzar certainly is not worthy of worship or adoration (as he so desires; cf. Dan 2 and 3). But the God of heaven is worthy of all thanks, praise, and worship!

7. God answers the requests of His people according to His will (2:23b).

God was well-pleased to answer Daniel's request in this matter in the affirmative. God would have been good *if* he had not revealed the dream and its interpretation, but God so chose to reveal it to Daniel to show that God is the one, true God who can in fact reveal mysteries that are not only within human beings (=Nebuchadnezzar) but also regarding the future of human history (2:36ff).

What a theologically loaded prayer. What a sovereign God! What a great lesson that the first thing that Daniel did was to pray and acknowledge thanks and praise to God. Then he went to Nebuchadnezzar and revealed his dream and its interpretation.

how did GOD appease His own anger toward sinners?

2011-12-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

From John Stott:

It is God himself who in holy wrath needs to be propitiated, God himself who in holy love undertook to do the propitiating, and God himself who in the person of his Son died for the propitiation of our sins. Thus, God took his own loving initiative to appease his own righteous anger by bearing it his own self in his own Son when he took our place and died for us. There is no crudity here to evoke our ridicule, only the profundity of holy love to evoke our worship.

(John Stott, The Cross of Christ, 175).

What infinite mystery to the grace & mercy of God upon such sinners like you and me!

KNOWLEDGE must lead to GODLINESS.

2011-11-29T06:39:00.000-08:00

Titus 1:1 - "...the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness"
(Titus 1:1 - ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας τῆς κατ᾽ εὐσέβειαν)

Isn't it amazing that Paul reminds the believers in Crete that the knowledge of the truth is not an end in and of itself. Knowledge about God is good — and commendable. But this is only a step to the ongoing life of godliness. In other words: what you learn must affect the way you live. What you hear preached in church must affect how you live during the week. What you meditate on every day in God's Word must affect the way you live during the day.

Does your knowledge of the truth affect the godliness of your life?

the pastor's duty & the people's responsibility.

2011-11-27T06:23:00.001-08:00

Amazing and totally relevant truth can be found in Ezekiel 33.

THE CONTEXT
Jerusalem has just been ransacked by Nebuchadnezzar & the Babylonians (Ezek 33:21-29). Ezekiel and others are already in exile and they have received news from a messenger that the city has been taken (33:21).

THE PREACHER
God told Ezekiel, the son of man, to continue preaching even when the people of Israel come before Ezekiel and listen to his message (33:30). They come as God's people come, they sit before him as he delivers God's message which comes from the mouth of the LORD (33:31).

But when the people come, they sit and listen to God's Word, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain (33:31). What a picture of people who are totally religious outwardly, they sit in church regularly, yet they sin blatantly and rebel against God (33:31).

So bad is it that Ezekiel has become to these people like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument for they hear your words (which he speaks for YHWH) but they do not practice them (33:32).

So when the judgment finally happens, as surely as it will declares the LORD, that the people will know that a prophet has been in their midst!

THE RESPONSIBILITY
From this text we see that the preacher, the watchman and spokesman for the Lord, must be faithful to deliver faithfully the Word of the LORD. He must not fear man nor skimp on the tough doctrines. But he must be faithful to the commission of God His Master.

The responsibility of the people is to sit and hear the Word from the Lord spoken through the preacher (God's mouthpiece). BUT, the people must listen to and apply the Word of God rather than continually rejecting the Word of the Lord so that they can walk in the lusts of their flesh and in the idolatries of their heart.

THE CONCLUSION
Preacher - do people know that "a prophet has been in their midst" when you preach?

Christian - do you hear the Word of the Lord regularly and apply what you hear specifically, deliberately, and carefully so that your life changes where it needs to change and so you don't leave 'church' to then enter again into the idolatries, sins, and lusts of life?

How relevant & clear God's Word is!

what do you do when you DON'T delight in god?

2011-11-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

Some very helpful words from John Piper:

When you don't delight in God, what can you do to change?

1. Realize that authentic joy and delight in God is a gift (Gal 5:22; Ps 51:12).

2. Realize that joy must fought for relentlessly (2 Cor 1:24; Phil 1:25; 2 Tim 4:7; 1 Tim 6:12).

3. Resolve to attack all known sin in your life (however big or small they are!) (Rom 6:11-13).

4. Realize that the battle for joy and delight in God is fundamentally a fight to see God for Who He really is (Ps 34:8; 2 Cor 4:4-6; 1 John 3:2; Ps 9:10)!

5. Meditate on God's Word day and night (Ps 23:3; Ps 19:7,8; John 15:11; Ps 1:2-3; Rom 15:13).

6. Pray earnestly and relentlessly for open heart-eyes and a genuine delight in God (John 16:24; Ps 90:14; Ps 85:6).

7. Learn to preach to yourself rather than listen to yourself (Ps 42:5).

8. Be patient in the night of 'God's seeming absence' and continue to trust in Him (Ps 40:1-3).

(adapted from John Piper, Desiring God, 352-64)

preparing to preach on paradise.

2011-11-25T14:54:00.000-08:00

What a fabulous opportunity the preacher has to delve into God's Word and studies the profound glories of it. One such doctrine the Bible teaches is that all true believers will go to heaven and be with the Lord.

Tomorrow night I'm preaching on how we as believers will relate to God in heaven. My topic is lofty. The Scriptures are sufficient. My notes are long. And my heart is full. Just think, we as redeemed sinners will have unobstructed vision of God, unhindered fellowship with God, and unending delight in God! What a profound gift of God's grace!

At the conclusion of my sermon, I've got the words to Fanny Crosby's hymn My Savior First of All (wrote in 1891):

When my life work is ended, and I cross the swelling tide,
When the bright and glorious morning I shall see;
I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side,
And His smile will be the first to welcome me.

I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
And redeemed by His side I shall stand,
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
By the print of the nails in His hand.

Oh, the soul thrilling rapture when I view His blessèd face,
And the luster of His kindly beaming eye;
How my full heart will praise Him for the mercy, love and grace,
That prepare for me a mansion in the sky.

Oh, the dear ones in glory, how they beckon me to come,
And our parting at the river I recall;
To the sweet vales of Eden they will sing my welcome home;
But I long to meet my Savior first of all.

Through the gates to the city in a robe of spotless white,
He will lead me where no tears will ever fall;
In the glad song of ages I shall mingle with delight;
But I long to meet my Savior first of all.

Amazingly, Crosby wrote those words as a blind woman. When she died, the first person she saw was Jesus!

So then:
"Let your souls delight in communion with God while you are on earth, since you look for your happiness in communion with Him in heaven. Let your speech and actions savor heaven; and in your manner of life, look like the country to which you are going! . . . In heaven, you will have peace and plenty, profit and pleasure, and everything desirable; full satisfaction of your most enlarged desires. Let the expectations of heaven, then, lift up your heads with joy! Gird up your loins and so run that you may obtain, trampling on everything that may hinder you on your way to the kingdom. Never regard any duty too hard, nor any cross too heavy, nor any pains too great, so that you may attain the crown of glory" (Thomas Boston)!

thanksgiving is ALWAYS in season.

2011-11-24T06:09:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is never out of season, for we have always much to be grateful for.

We must view ALL THINGS as . . .

arranged by His wisdom,

dependent on His will,

sanctified by His blessing,

according with His promises,

and flowing from His love!

"In everything give thanks!" 1 Thess 5.17

HT: James Smith

happy Thanksgiving. Football — bring it!

2011-11-24T06:07:00.001-08:00

Enjoy some turkey & football today.

what happens when a sinner believes in CHRIST?

2011-11-23T06:13:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther was right in the 16th century in answering the question: what happens at the moment of salvation?

Though faith in Jesus Christ alone and by God's matchless grace alone, God forgives the sinner.

And...

God imputes (=credits, reckons) Christ's perfect righteousness to the sinner as if it were the sinner's own.

Thus, when the sinner recognizes his own sin and his own need of divine grace to rescue him from eternal judgment and he places his faith in Jesus Christ alone recognizing that He took the Father's wrath on the cross in the place of the deserving sinner. Thus, God forgives the sinner. At the same time, God doesn't just forgive the sinner and leave him "neutral." He imputes to that sinner all of Christ's perfect righteousness as if it were the sinner's very own perfection. Thus, the sinner receives an "alien righteousness."

This is the gift of God in salvation. "Salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9).

the history of Israel even up to her kingdom.

2011-11-22T05:41:00.001-08:00

I rejoice greatly in the faithfulness of God to His covenant with His people, Israel. What God started and promised, He will fulfill perfectly and completely.

My study in God's Word this morning led me to Ezekiel 20 which is where Ezekiel recounts God's dealings with Israel in her past when God chose Israel and revealed Himself to her (20:5) and promised them a better land in which to dwell (20:6). Yet they rebelled and worshiped false idols (20:8).

So God thrust them into the wilderness (20:10) to test them and show His sovereign power, love, and provision for them — even in the midst of disciplining them. Yet they still rebelled against God and walked after their idols (20:13, 16).

So God promised them in the wilderness that they would be scattered among the nations and dispersed among all the lands if they did not obey and follow Yahweh (20:23; cf. Lev 26 and Deut 28). Yet when they entered the land of promise, they worshiped idols and followed their detestable and wicked practices (20:27-29).

Yet God sovereignly determines in v.33 that He will be their King (20:33). There will come a point when Israel knows that He is the LORD (20:38).

THEN Ezekiel tells them that "later" Israel will listen to God, and His holy name will not be profaned any longer. For on God's holy mountain (=Jerusalem), on the high mountain of Israel there will be Israel—all of them—serving the Lord in the land of Israel (20:40). There God will accept them and God will seek their worship. Israel will know that He is the LORD (20:41-42). Israel will remember her past and "loathe herself" for all the evil that she has done in Yahweh's sight (20:43).

I am quite confident that this passage (just one of a myriad) teaches the history of Israel beginning with God's election of her, to her time in Egypt, to her wanderings in the wilderness, to her entering into the Land of Promise, to her exile and restoration, leading and culminating in the kingdom in Israel where God is her King and where they recognize their past sin and acknowledge God for who He really is. (*note: this has yet to happen, read Rom 9 and esp. 11*).

God is a faithful God and keeps His promises — even when Israel continues to reject Him. But thanks be to God for His unconditional faithfulness to His own promises. He will most certainly restore Israel in the future and bring her back into the land of Israel for her kingdom where He will receive her worship & be glorified in her.

how should the sufficiency of Scripture affect YOU?

2011-11-19T07:01:00.001-08:00

Wayne Mack helps by offering three insights:

1. The inerrant Bible to which Christians are committed as an authority in life teaches that God has provided for us in His Word whatever is true and necessary for successful living. It declares that God has given us, in the Bible, everything we need for being in right relationship with God, ourselves, and other people.

2. Because this is true, professing Christians have two options: either they must yield to its teaching on this matter or they must abandon the idea that the Bible is inerrant and authoritative. It is either inerrant and authoritative and also sufficient or it is none of these things. If the Bible claims to be sufficient in the ways and for the purposes previously delineated and it is not, then you cannot say it is inerrant and authoritative. Given what the Bible teaches about itself, you simply cannot have it both ways.

3. This final conclusion is a natural concomitant of accepting the truthfulness of the first conclusion: Because the Bible asserts its own sufficiency for counseling-related issues, secular psychology has nothing to offer for understanding or providing solutions to the non-physical problems of people. When it comes to counseling people, we have no reason for depending on the insights of finite and fallen men. Rather, we have every reason to place our confidence in the sure, dependable, and entirely trustworthy revelation of God given to us in Holy Scripture. That is because it contains a God-ordained, sufficient, comprehensive system of theoretical commitments, principles, insights, goals, and appropriate methods for understanding and resolving the non-physical problems of people. It provides for us a model that needs no supplement. God, the expert on helping people, has given us in Scripture counseling perspectives and methodology that are wholly adequate for resolving our sin- related problems.

(from Wayne Mack, "Sufficiency of Scripture in Counseling," TMSJ 9, no. 1 [Spring 1981]: 82).

the horrors of hell unveiled in Rev 14.9-12

2011-11-15T06:19:00.001-08:00

Hell. Few believe it & it is seldom that preachers herald it. but last night my responsibility was to herald Revelation 14.9-12, the scariest text in the Bible on eternal hell.

Listen or stream here.

if JESUS is the Head & Builder of His church, then...

2011-11-15T05:56:00.000-08:00

If Christ is the Head and if He builds his church,

Then we must trust in Him that His purposes and plans for the church will be accomplished.

Then we must acknowledge that He will build His church, not programs, people, entertainment, or anything else.

Then we must remember that everything we do must exalt Him as the Head and Sovereign over His Church.

Then we must content with all our might holding firm to the great confession that Jesus Christ is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Then we must accept any way that He supports the church.

Then we must allow Him to speak in and through the regular reading and the faithful proclamation of His Word.

Then the church growth movements and strategies that are culturally driven are doomed to failure since Christ’s headship and sovereignty are not culturally bound.

Then we must make certain that we are holy, pure, undefiled, and useful to the Master to accomplish this work of serving Him in the building of His church.

Then we should regularly repent of our sin when we often strive to build Christ’s church according to our methods, desires, ego-centric passions, and self-styled sovereignty.

Then we must have flexibility in humbly and joyfully accepting change because not all of our plans may be in direct harmony with God’s sovereign prerogative.

Then we must be exuberant and unending with our joy because Christ’s church is His body and it shall never fail.

hey preacher — do you preach with passion? evangelistic zeal?

2011-11-14T05:52:00.001-08:00

Timely, good, and heart-penetrating words concerning Richard Baxter:

Baxter's preaching was characterized by a passionate evangelistic appeal. The great reality which moulded his ministry was the fact that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Extreme bodily weakness increased his awareness that there was but a step between him and death, whom he called his 'neighbour'. Every duty was to be carried out, every sermon preached, in the light of the great day. 'I daily know and think of that approaching hour', he says. His congregation is described as 'a company of ignorant, carnal, miserable sinners... who must be changed or damned. Methinks I even see them entering upon their final woe! Methinks I hear them crying out for help, for speediest help!'

This awareness of eternity made Baxter an emotional preacher. 'If you want to know the art of pleading' said Spurgeon, 'read Baxter.' Yet his emotion was not undisciplined, but fuelled by his comprehension of truth, for he had no time for 'an affected fervency.' 'Light first, then heat' was his motto — first the exposition of the truth, then the words of piercing appeal springing from that truth. At the close of 'A Call to the Unconverted to turn and live' he appeals to his hearers with such tender earnestness that we can almost see the tears upon his cheeks. 'My heart is troubled to think how I shall leave you, lest... I should leave you as I found you, till you awake in hell... I am as hearty a beggar with you this day, for the saving of your souls, as I would be for my own supply, if I were forced to come a begging to your doors. And therefore if you would hear me then, hear me now. If you would pity me then, be entreated now to pity yourselves... 0 sirs, believe it, death and judgment, heaven and hell, are other matters when you come near them, than they seem to carnal eyes afar off. Then you will hear such a message as I bring you with more awakened, regardful hearts.'

The focus of his preaching was an urgent invitation to receive Christ. Baxter preached for a verdict, he sought to 'drive sinners to a stand and make them see... that they must unavoidably be either converted or condemned.' His words at the close of 'Making Light of Christ and Salvation' are powerful and pointed: 'When God hath shaken those careless souls out of their bodies, and you must answer for all your sins in your own name; Oh then what would you give for a saviour!...When you see the world hath left you, and your companions in sin have deceived themselves and you, and all your merry days are gone; then what would you give for that Christ and salvation that now you account not worth your labour!... You that cannot make light of a little sickness, or of want, or of natural death, no, not of a toothache, but groan as if you were undone; how will you then make light of the fury of the Lord, which will burn against the condenmers of His grace? I come now to know your resolution for the time to come. What say you? Do you mean to set as light by Christ and salvation as hitherto you have done and to be the same men after all this? I hope not.' The sharp edge was always present - a choice had to be made, a verdict given, an offer of mercy accepted or rejected.

Amen!

So preacher, I ask you: do you preach with evangelistic appeal? Emotions? Urgently invite sinners to repent and believe in Christ?

prayer needed for preaching & ordination.

2011-11-14T05:31:00.000-08:00

This upcoming week will be quite busy for me and thus I come to you asking for prayer.

1. Tonight I'm preaching one of the toughest texts in the Bible to herald—Revelation 14:9-12—in a sermon I've titled: "The horrors of hell unveiled before your heart."

A growing number of churches and leaders are diminishing the importance of this doctrine. Fewer churches and pastors are really preaching on the doctrine of hell. So tonight, my responsibility is to lay before my hearers 9 descriptions of hell from Revelation 14. Pray for me (I'll post the mp3 link here tomorrow).
2. This upcoming Sunday I have my first (of two) ordination oral exams. This Sunday, my two examiners will grill me on bible knowledge and biblical counseling for two hours. Pray for great wisdom, insight, & time to continue my study this week in preparation for that exam.

I feel so honored to be examined by elders and pastors from Grace Community Church and from a professor at The Master's College. I pray that this may encourage me as I embark upon the new ministry of Christ Fellowship Bible Church—a church plant in the Brentwood, MO area starting mid-December.

the apostle paul's prayer for believers.

2011-11-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1:18-19 — I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might.

(Ephesians 1:18-19 — πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας [ὑμῶν] εἰς τὸ εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς τίς ἐστιν ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς κλήσεως αὐτοῦ, τίς ὁ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις, καὶ τί τὸ ὑπερβάλλον μέγεθος τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ εἰς ἡμᾶς τοὺς πιστεύοντας κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ κράτους τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ.)

This section of Scripture divides into three phrases that define what it is that Paul wants the Ephesians to know (εἰς τὸ εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς). All of the clauses begin with "what is" (τίς):

1. Know the hope of God's calling.

2. Know the riches of God's glorious inheritance in the saints.

3. Know the surpassing greatness of God's power toward us who believe.

As believers, have you recently considered what is the hope of God's calling of you? Have you marveled at the utter riches of God's glorious inheritance in the saints (mind-baffling thought!)? And have you understood the surpassing greatness of God's power that is at work in us who believe? (And if you're not sure just how powerful God's power really is, then just read verses 20-23 to get an idea.)

Let's be believers who know God's hope, his glorious inheritance, and his divine power at work in us.

Tikvah Update — HOME!

2011-11-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

So many of you have prayed for Tikvah and for our family and we give thanks for that. The doctors allowed us to come home from the hospital late Tuesday afternoon. The last few days have been busy getting her on a schedule, getting her to feed, and attending to Kiah as well.

God has been so good to us & we praise Him for His immense and undeserved goodness to us during this time. Elizabeth and I have learned new areas where we need to grow spiritually and have learned to trust the Lord and rely on Him in other areas where we've never been tested before.

Praise be to God for his unending, unfailing, and unmatched grace.

the core of BIBLICAL COUNSELING.

2011-11-08T06:18:00.001-08:00

Great words from Jay Adams:

The goal of all counseling, whether biblical or secular, is to change people. However, all unbiblical systems, even when they speak of doing “depth” counseling, change people only at a surface level. (Jer.6:14; Mk.7:14-23).

“The only person who can really operate at a level of depth is the person who knows how to go to the heart of a man’s problem. And the only way to go to the heart of a man’s problem is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit, who transforms the heart of man and thus transforms his life patterns.”

Tikvah UPDATE — great progress!

2011-11-08T05:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks again for praying, dear friends. After a number of attempts, Tikvah finally gave in and is breathing on her own without the ventilator! She is recovering very well & in the next day or two will be transferred out of the CTICU to another unit for recovery till she goes home.

Also, last night we were able to take Hezekiah back to see her & he had a huge smile & immediately went to kiss her on the head (let's just hope that kind of tenderness continues...).Please keep praying for her that she would eat orally. She ate quite well yesterday afternoon but last night was a bit stubborn again. Pray that she'd get the hang of this thing swiftly.

Thanks so much!

UPDATE: Tikvah

2011-11-07T06:46:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much for praying for Tikvah. She has done remarkably well through the surgery, the closing of the chest, and her recovery.

She has still refused to breathe on her own. She enjoys the ventilator breathing for her so the goal is, Lord willing, for her to be able to breathe on her own either today or tomorrow.

The next major step (and the one that takes the most time) is learning to feed orally.

We're hoping that God continues to glorify Himself as she recovers and as we strive to be a witness for Christ at the hospital. Thanks so much for your prayers. We treasure the family of Christ who together has come alongside of us in lifting our daughter up in prayer. Thank you.

why the ethnic nation of Israel CANNOT be abolished or replaced.

2011-11-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

Some think that God's plan for national, ethnic Israel is abolished but this viewpoint runs contradictory to at least two reasons that Jeremiah provides in chapter 31.

1) As long as the sun, moon, and stars exist, the nation of Israel will exist as God's people.

Jeremiah 31:35-36 — Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: "If this fixed order departs From before Me," declares the LORD, "Then the offspring of Israel also will cease From being a nation before Me forever."

2) As long as man cannot measure the immensity of the heavens, so the nation of Israel will remain as God's people.

Jeremiah 31:37 — Thus says the LORD, "If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done," declares the LORD.

It's hard to read texts like these with a plain, normal hermeneutic and conclude with any other interpretation. God states that Israel will be His people as long as the sun, and moon, and stars exist and as long as no one can reach the extremities of the galaxies and the vastness of the earth's foundations.

Paul comments on this in the book of Romans:

Romans 11:25-26 — For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-- so that you will not be wise in your own estimation-- that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved...

dude — where's your bride?

2011-11-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people say and word things really well. Kevin DeYoung's post on dude—where's your bride? is one of those articles.

It's a call to the men to step up, grow up, mature up, and look for a wife.

He's right on & accurate in what he says.

a purpose of afflictions.

2011-11-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

According to Paul:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 — Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

This brief section of verses reveals a number of important truths about the purpose of afflictions.

1) In any and every affliction in life that anyone may encounter, regardless of the seriousness of it and its outcome, God is worthy to be blessed and praised!

2) There are seasons of life full of trials in which believers quite clearly learn that God is in fact the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.

3) God comforts His own in all our afflictions. God doesn't leave His people. He certainly doesn't allow them to go through the affliction on their own. Rather, he comforts His people while in the afflictions. Note it doesn't say that God prevents His people from entering into afflictions. But while they are in the affliction—regardless of the intensity and extent of it—God comforts them all the while.

4) The purpose ("so that"; εἰς τὸ δύνασθαι) we may be able to comfort others who are in any affliction with the comfort that we have received while going through our own affliction. A wealth of pastoral wisdom comes from this verse. God allows suffering and then attends to His people in their suffering so that when others in their social sphere are going through sufferings, they may be able to comfort with the same amount of comfort which they themselves received.

Praise the Lord! Rightly does Paul state a little later on:

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 — But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?

our primary motive for everything must be the Lord's glory.

2011-11-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

"To whom be glory forever" (2 Tim 4.18). This should be the single desire of the Christian. I take it that he should not have twenty wishes, but only one. He may desire to see his family brought up well, but only that "to God may be glory forever." he may wish for prosperity in business, but only so far as it may help him to promote this: "to whom be glory forever." He may desire to attain more gifts and more graces, but it should only be that "to him may be glory forever." This one thing I know, Christian: You are not acting as you ought to do when you are moved by any other motive than the one motive of your Lord's glory.

—Charles Spurgeon

analogies between my daughter and every sinner's spiritual condition.

2011-10-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

The analogies between my daughter’s heart condition and the spiritual condition of every human being are here defined.

Just as my daughter was born with a bad heart, so every human being who is born into this world has a spiritually corrupt heart.

Just as my daughter needs surgery performed on her heart so as to spare her life, so it is with every human. Every person needs spiritual surgery performed on one’s heart so that one can really spiritually live.

Just as my daughter needs someone outside of her to accomplish this new heart-surgery in her, so every sinner needs someone outside of himself to accomplish this heart-surgery which results in regeneration.

Just as my daughter now is in the NICU being so tenderly, constantly, and frequently attended to, we know that without surgery that fixes the problem, all this work by the NICU doctors would all be for naught. So it is with our spiritual conditions. Sinners can try to attend to themselves with such care, frequency, fervency, and diligence to give themselves life, but unless God performs the heart surgery and regenerates the heart, all that self-righteous lawkeeping will be for naught.

Just as my daughter has no idea that she has a bad heart and is in need of life-saving heart surgery, so the deadened sinner who is so blinded by his sin and false worship has no idea that he has a bad heart that will damn him to hell unless the Spirit gives life.

Just as my daughter looks beautiful and cute on the outside but yet her inward parts are in need of life-saving transformation, so it is with unregenerate sinners. They can look religious and ‘all-put-together’ on the outside but have no spiritual life because of the wickedness that resides in the inward parts.

Just as my daughter’s open heart surgery should (Lord willing), be a one-time surgery and thus fix her heart condition for life, so it is with the salvation God works in each sinner. When God takes a spiritually dead heart and breathes new life in it, that one-time “surgery” has spiritually justified the sinner so that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Pray with me that God would spare Tikvah’s life so that we can use these (and many more) analogies to evangelize her in the coming years with the hopes that God might see fit to draw her to Himself in repentance and saving faith in the substitutionary work of Christ.

Tikvah Hadassah Kirkland

2011-10-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Born at 2:16am on Friday, October 29th, Tikvah Hadassah Kirkland entered the world weighing in at 7lbs 13oz.

She is stable and doing well in the NICU as her heart-surgery is scheduled for Wednesday (more updates to follow). Thanks for your prayers!

Soli Deo gloria.

We Must Preach from God's Word. Simple but Often Forgotten.

2011-10-27T05:33:00.000-07:00

A timely reminder from J.C. Ryle:

"I charge my readers to remember this. Stand fast on old principles. Do not forsake the old paths. Let nothing tempt you to believe that multiplication of forms and ceremonies, constant reading of liturgical services, or frequent communions, will ever do so much good to souls as the powerful, fiery, fervent preaching of God's Word. Daily services without sermons may gratify and edify a few handfuls of believers, but they will never reach, draw, attract, or arrest the great mass of mankind. If men want to do good to the multitude, if they want to reach their hearts and consciences, they must walk in the steps of Wycliffe, Latimer, Luther, Chrysostom, and St. Paul. They must attack them through their ears; they must blow the trumpet of the everlasting Gospel loud and long; they must preach the Word!"

JC Ryle, Light from Old Times, 7-8.

how do you WORSHIP? is it BIBLICAL?

2011-10-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

From David Peterson:

"Throughout the Bible, acceptable worship means approaching or engaging with God on the terms that he proposes and in the manner that he makes possible. It involves honouring, serving and respecting him, abandoning any loyalty or devotion that hinders an exclusive relationship with him. Although some of Scripture's terms for worship may refer to specific gestures of homage, rituals or priestly ministrations, worship is more fundamentally faith expressing itself in obedience and adoration. Consequently, in both Testaments it is often shown to be a personal and moral fellowship with God relevant to every sphere of life."

From Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship, 283.

how we minister & God ministers to us when the church gathers.

2011-10-25T07:02:00.001-07:00

Here's a helpful visual of how the building up of the saints happens when we minister to one another:
From: David Peterson, Engaging with God, 221.

who can worship GOD?

2011-10-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

Good reminder from David Peterson in his book Engaging with God:

"An engagement with God through Christ is now the only way to offer the worship that is due to Him" (187, emphasis added).

preach to an apathetic audience? learn from whitefield!

2011-10-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

This gets my bones burnin' to preach.

Another leading characteristic of Whitefield’s preaching was his tremendous earnestness. One poor uneducated man said of him, that “he preached like a lion.” He succeeded in showing people that he at least believed all he was saying, and that his heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, were bent on making them believe it too. His sermons were not like the morning and evening gun at Portsmouth, a kind of formal discharge, fired off as a matter of course, that disturbs nobody. They were all life and fire. There was no getting away from them. Sleep was next to impossible. You must listen whether you liked it or not. There was a holy violence about him which firmly took your attention by storm. You were fairly carried off your legs by his energy before you had time to consider what you would do. This, we may be sure, was one secret of his success. We must convince men that we are in earnest ourselves if we want to be believed. The difference between one preacher and another, is often not so much in the things said, as in the manner in which they are said.

It is recorded by one of his biographers that an American gentleman once went to hear him, for the first time, in consequence of the report he heard of his preaching powers. The day was rainy, the congregation comparatively thin, and the beginning of the sermon rather heavy. Our American friend began to say to himself; “This man is no great wonder after all” He looked round, and saw the congregation as little interested as himself. One old man, in front of the pulpit, had fallen asleep. But all at once Whitefield stopped short. His countenance changed. And then he suddenly broke forth in an altered tone: “If I had come to speak to you in my own name, you might well rest your elbows on your knees, and your heads on your hands, and sleep; and once in a while look up, and say, What is this babbler talking of?

But I have not come to you in my own name. No! I have come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts” There he brought down his hand and foot with a force that made the building ring), “and I must and will be heard.” The congregation started. The old man woke up at once. “Ay, ay!” cried Whitefield, fixing his eyes on him, “I have waked you up, have I? I meant to do it. I am not come here to preach to stocks and stones: I have come to you in the name of the Lord God of Hosts, and I must, and will, have an audience.” The hearers were stripped of their apathy at once. Every word of the sermon after this was heard with deep attention, and the American gentleman never forgot it.

From J.C. Ryle's Church Leaders writing on George Whitefield

john 3, street preaching, opposition & the gospel

2011-10-22T18:56:00.001-07:00

Today God blessed me with being with my 3rd Street Heralds team today which I thoroughly enjoy. Today there were many who preached God's Word and God's gospel to a lot of people walking on the Promenade.

Here is a link of my John 3 sermon, thanks to Living Waters Ministry.

At about the 18:00 minute mark, some opposition arises.

rob bell's new book

2011-10-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

Promoting false theology is not new. Rob Bell is following the step of many throughout history who deny the unpopular and hard-to-swallow doctrines of Scripture. The doctrine Bell denies is the eternal, conscious, torment by God upon all the unbelieving in the Lake of Fire forever.

He has a second book coming out; it's actually a sequel to Love Wins. This one is called The Love Wins Companion. Should be out 11/15/2011.

You should be alert of Bell & his belief on hell — through it is by no means new; but he is quite popular.

To rebut his position, I give two Scriptures from the book of Revelation:

Revelation 14:9-11 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

And again...

Revelation 20:7-10 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Tikvah — one week & counting...

2011-10-21T05:06:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth and I trust the Lord with our daughter's heart condition and fully acknowledge that God will do whatever will bring Him the most glory — whether that be in her life or in her death. We are praying for wisdom as the surgeons will perform open-heart surgery in the first few days after the birth, but we desire to trust the Lord and rest upon His unchanging goodness.

Pray with us for her life, yes. But pray with us more importantly for God to be glorified in this whole situation with Tikvah and TGA (=Transposition of the Great Arteries). Her due date is Thursday, October 27th. We'll try to post updates here on the blog & on facebook. Thanks so much for your prayers!

My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope (תִּקְוָה) is from Him (Ps 62:5).

Soli Deo gloria.

letter to an unsaved friend.

2011-10-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

Read this letter that James Smith—pastor in the 19th century—penned this letter that is well worth your read. It is called Letter to an Unsaved Friend.

Dear unsaved friend,
Could you please read the following carefully, and then sign it--if you agree to it.

I am resolved to persevere in sin, and follow the maxims and customs of those around me--though it costs me the loss of my soul, and exposes me to everlasting damnation.

I am resolved to reject the Son of God--I will not embrace Him as my Savior, or have Him reign over me. I am resolved that I will not accept the pardon which God presents to me in the gospel, though it cost Jesus His life to procure it--and I know I must eternally perish without it. I am determined not to submit to God's way of salvation, and I consent to be lost forever! I have made up my mind, that I will never consent to receive a free salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ--I will not have it!

I am resolved . . .
to reject God's message,
to dare His justice,
to defy His power,
to refuse His mercy,
to brave His threatened wrath, and
to harden myself against all His invitations, expostulations, exhortations, and promises!

I am resolved that I will not . . .
bow to His authority,
yield to His entreaties,
believe on His Son,
repent of my sins,
love His name,
or obey His precepts!

I am determined that there shall never be joy in Heaven among the angels of God--on account of my conversion.

I will never . . .
desert the ranks of Satan,
give up my sinful practices,
ask for mercy at God's hands,
or take up my cross and follow Christ!

I am resolved . . .
to keep on in my old wicked course,
to persevere in my present sinful path,
to associate with my carnal companions--
and if it secures my eternal damnation--then let it do so!

I will not receive salvation on God's terms,
I will not stoop to be saved by grace alone,
I will not take the yoke of Christ upon me, and engage to be His subject and servant--even though Heaven and all the glories of eternity would be secured by it.

If I cannot escape the wrath of God--but by faith, repentance, and holiness--why, I am determined go to Hell, for I am resolved not to yield to any such terms!

It is of no use for the preacher to spend His breath upon me! My mind is made up, I will be my own master, I will take my own course! No one has any right to interfere with me--for I shall injure no one but myself!

I have no objection to going to church, or to attending to some religious forms--but to give my heart to God, to be crucified to the present world, and to make God's glory the end of life--will never do for me; therefore I gladly take the consequences.

If this is required of those who would be true Christians--then you must stop urging me--for I will not yield! You must stop all attempts to convert me, for my mind is made up! I have heard hundreds of sermons, I have read the Bible myself--but I have hardened myself against the whole, and I am not going to yield now!

Tell me no more of the Savior's love,
tell me no more of the pleasures of holiness,
tell me no more of the terrors of death,
tell me no more of the dreadful judgment,
tell me no more of the joys of Heaven,
tell me no more of the agonies of Hell--
for you will never induce me to yield myself unto God, and seek the salvation of my soul. For my mind is made up, and my daily conduct is enough to convince you of it, if anything would. I am resolved not to yield--let the consequences be what they may!

I will go on just as I have done!

I will not be Christ's servant!

I will not be God's child!

I will obey only Satan!

I will follow the course of this evil world!

I will serve my lusts and pleasures!

In proof thereof, witness my signature, ____________.

Now...
Will you now sign your name?

Will you now solemnly put your seal to this statement?

Why are you so afraid?

Do not your actions speak louder than your words? Is not your daily practice stronger proof--than just putting your name to a statement once? If you do not say the above in words--yet if you do so in your actions--then where is the difference? Does not God read the language of your life? If you say it in your daily practice--then why not boldly take the pen and openly sign your name?

Soon the judgment shall be set, and the books shall be opened--and your criminality and folly shall be published before assembled worlds!

Well, will you sign the above? Why not? Is it true of you--or is it not?

the unity of believers when everyone looks to CHRIST.

2011-10-16T05:42:00.001-07:00

From AW Tozer:

"Has it ever occurred to you that 100 pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So 100 worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become "unity" conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship."

i love my wife.

2011-10-14T12:45:00.001-07:00

Heading to downtown LA

An awesome night of talking, Q&A, food, and more food!

The greatest part of my week—by far—has been my date night with my beautiful wife, Elizabeth.

in search for a definition of WORSHIP.

2011-10-14T06:38:00.001-07:00

Here's a good one by D.A. Carson:

"Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing all honor and worth to their Creator-God precisely because he is worthy, delightfully so. This side of the Fall, human worship of God properly responds to the redemptive provisions that God has graciously made. While all true worship is God-centered, Christian worship is no less Christ-centered. Empowered by the Spirit and in line with the stipulations of the new covenant, it manifests itself in all our living, finding its impulse in the gospel, which restores our relationship with our Redeemer-God and therefore also with our fellow image-bearers, our co-worshippers. Such worship therefore manifests itself both in adoration and in action, both in the individual believer and in corporate worship, which is worship offered up in the context of the body of believers, who strive to align all the forms of their devout ascription of all worth to God with the panoply of new covenant mandates and examples that bring to fulfillment the glories of antecedent revelation and anticipate the consummation."

Phew. That's excllent.

From D.A. Carson, "Worship under the Word," in Worship by the Book, ed. by D.A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 26.

have you prayed for ILLUMINATION?

2011-10-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

Martin Bucer prayed in 1537:

"Almighty, gracious Father, forasmuch as our whole salvation depends upon our true understanding of your Holy Word, grant to all of us that our hearts, being freed from worldly affairs, may hear and apprehend your Holy Word with all diligence and faith, that we may rightly understand your gracious will, cherish it, and live by it with all earnestness, to you praise and honor; through our Lord Jesus Christ."

(from Chapell, Christ-Centered Worship, 206).

Let's be reminded that when we read, study, preach, or teach God's Word, we are all in need of the Spirit's grace to understand the meaning of the text & to apply it accurately to our lives.

what does it mean to be a GODLY husband?

2011-10-11T05:36:00.001-07:00

I preached 1 Peter 3:7 last night and have never had as many men come up to me afterwards and talk. Amazing how God works. And amazing that this is such a dire need in our culture today.

Ever wonder what it means to be a godly man & a godly husband? What does God require of you? The world doesn't have the answers? Our own sinful & corrupt hearts don't have the answers? Men's Magazine doesn't have the answers. But God's Word does have the answers!

Listen to the sermon here.

1 Peter 3:7 — You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

husband ... learn & honor your wife SO THAT your prayers aren't cut off

2011-10-10T05:20:00.000-07:00

Yes that's right. The Scriptures directly connect biblical husbanding to spiritual living. If the husband is not performing his duty in glorifying God by honoring and learning his wife, then according to 1 Peter 3:7 his prayers are "cut off" or "hindered."

1 Peter 3:7 — You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

Tonight I have the privilege to open God's Word again at the Bible Tabernacle and I'm very excited but greatly convicted at the same time to exposit this text.

Here we learn that it is impossible to have a vibrant spiritual life while neglecting one's marital life. We are called to learn our wives (and 'keep learning' them!), to honor our wives, and to follow Christ as we lead our wives so that our prayers are not hindered.

Very sobering; very true; very hard; and very very relevant for marriages today in our culture. I'll post the audio tomorrow.

a favorite OT verse of OT writers.

2011-10-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

Exodus 34:6-7:

‏ וַיַּעֲבֹ֨ר יְהוָ֥ה ׀ עַל־פָּנָיו֮ וַיִּקְרָא֒ יְהוָ֣ה ׀ יְהוָ֔ה אֵ֥ל רַח֖וּם וְחַנּ֑וּן אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם וְרַב־חֶ֥סֶד וֶאֱמֶֽת
(And the Lord passed by before him and He called out: 'The LORD, the LORD, a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abundant in covenant-love and truth.')

We often see in our New Testaments the phrase "just as it is written" that recalls an OT text that the NT author cites. But let's not forget that the OT writers were just as saturated in the Word as well. Another fascinating study is to see how the OT uses the OT.

I'm preaching on Ps 117 this Sunday and a phrase occurs there that clearly refers back to Ex 34:6-7. A number of important truths can be spoken of regarding this excellent text:

1) The Lord declares His own character in Ex 34:6-7. It is not another telling us about God; these are the words of the LORD about Himself.

2) The Lord is a compassionate God. He is compassionate towards those who are His in a very specific, particular, and fatherly way. Because of the Lord's compassions we are not consumed.

3) The Lord is a gracious God. When we were in a state of misery and utter helplessness, God showed divine grace toward us. Grace is God's lavishing undeserved compassion and mercy upon sinners that deserve just the opposite.

4) The Lord is slow to anger. The phrase (אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם) literally reads: "long of nose." He has a high patience-level. God displays His patience towards us daily. We sin, rebel, flaunt our self-sufficiency and pride constantly yet God is slow to anger. He does not treat us as our sins deserve.

5) The Lord is abundant in steadfast, covenant-keeping love. This is more than just "love." This is the covenant-keeping, steadfast, unconditional, unbreakable, unilateral, unrestrained kind of love. God has this love for His people. The amazing thing is that we sin against Him and yet He still is faithful in his love for us.

6) The Lord is abundant in truth. Everything about the Lord is truth. He encapsulates what is true. He Himself is the true God. There is only one true God. And that is the God revealed in the Word of God. Everything that is opposed to what the true word of God reveals about the one true God is opposed to God and therefore false. God is the standard for what is right and true for He is, in Himself, the essence of truth.

Therefore, let's glory in this great, sovereign, and powerful God we worship & serve.

Psalm 117:1-2 sums it up well:
Praise the LORD, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!

lessons i learned from my PhD oral examination...

2011-10-05T06:55:00.000-07:00

What I learned from my PhD oral examination.

After being interrogated for 4 hours and 15 minutes, I sat down and reflected on a few lessons God taught me in this process. Here are a few of them:

1. I am not humble.

I went into the exam terrified, afraid, mortified, and scared. Period. But I felt prepared. I had studied for months and been reading the list of required books for years (literally). But I went into the exam feeling as though I could handle myself alright and that I knew the basic gist of many of the issues. But that all changed after I updated them about my ministry plans at the beginning of the examination time! They asked question after question that were hard, difficult, and mind-stretching. After pontificating for a few minutes and they quickly ascertained that a particular issue was a weak spot for me, they would take that issue a step farther and ask a similar question that relates to the previous issue that I struggled my way through. At the end of the four hour examination, I felt as though I was an inch tall—which is one inch too tall! I was humbled, broken, and low.

2. I do not know everything.

I did not go into the exam arrogantly self-exalted thinking that I would master everything. But one truth I learned loud and clear in the time that I spent with my three examiners was that I do not know everything. Not a very new thing to those of you who do know me! But nevertheless, God reminded me, a stubborn and hard-headed guy, that I need to be humble because I do not know everything. Questions they asked—whether it related to Greek grammar, textual criticism, inerrancy, Hebrew grammar, theological interpretation of the Bible, chronology of certain NT letters—embrazened afresh on my mind the reality that I just simply don’t know everything. Therefore, I learned to be humble, seek for God, and study His Word daily and fervently.

3. Godly men know much more than me and I must strive to learn from them.

My examiners are professors for a reason. They know much more than me. At times, they even had to exegete the questions they asked me so that I could understand them. These godly men know the Word, know theology, know grammar, know text criticism and other relevant issues and God reminded me that there are those (many!) that know a great deal more than me and I must strive to learn from them. A PhD is not the end goal of a road of research and study; it merely begins the road of research and the journey of joy in learning about God and His Word.

4. Be willing to say “I don’t know.”

Words that came from my mouth more than once were: “I don’t know.” If I said that after every question they asked that’d be a problem. But there were a few times I just had to suck it up, swallow my pride, and spit out the words: “I just don’t know.” Not only is that humbling—especially on a PhD oral examination, but it reemphasized to me (again—cause I need constant reminders) that I just don’t know it all.

5. When those who love you tell you where your “weak spots” are, be humble enough to write it down, ask questions, and commit to doing further study in those areas in particular.

After the exam, they brought me back into the conference room, I took my seat at my end of the roundtable and then they shared with me four areas that are “weak spots.” I wrote them down and told myself that I will read up, study, and improve in those areas. I had lunch with my mentor and dissertation advisor, Rod Decker, and I asked him to elaborate and help me understand some of those weak spots better. He helpfully explained some of those issues and provided some resources for further study.

6. God is faithful and gives strength in the hardest of times.

I prayed and asked the Lord to give me the grace to endure the preparation—and He did. I begged the Lord to sustain me through the four hours of examination—and He did. I pleaded with the Lord to be merciful to me and allow me to pass—and He did. I committed the day—and the exam—to the Lord as an act of worship asking that He would be glorified in my efforts—and I believe He was. Truly the psalmist penned the words that are on the tip of my lips (and a text that I’m eager to preach this Sunday morning):

גָבַר עָלֵינוּ חַסְדּוֹ וֶאֱמֶת־יְהוָה לְעוֹלָם
“His covenant-love is great toward us; and the truth of the LORD is everlasting”
—Psalm 117:2

October 4, 2011
pdf here.

how do you know the books in the bible SHOULD be there?

2011-10-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

"Canonicity is determined by God. A book is not inspired because men make it canonical; it is canonical because God inspired it. ... Canonicity is determined or established authoritatively by God; it is merely discovered by man."

—Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, revised and expanded edition (Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press, 1986), 221.

Excellent!

phd interrogation week! :=)

2011-10-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Please intercede in prayer for me as I undergo my oral examination this week for my PhD program. I have four hours of question and answer with three professors. Pray that God would bring the things to mind that I've studied these last months.

Thanks so much praying for me!

preaching twice tonight — pray for unction!

2011-09-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

How good God is! He gives me the awesome privilege of proclaiming His Word tonight on the streets of Santa Monica, CA with my good friend & brother, Sherwood. We're going to herald the glories of Christ for a few hours tonight as the floods of people approach us.

I have two sermons ready:

1. Hebrews 4:12-13 - "You Read Many Books! Here's the Book that Reads You!"

2. Genesis 6 & 2 Peter 3 - "Repent of Your Sins & Come to Christ Before Judgment Falls!"

Pray for God's Spirit to work powerfully through the spoken Word tonight.

america — the modern day valley of slaughter.

2011-09-29T10:01:00.001-07:00

My friend Tony Miano boldly heralds Jeremiah 7-8 in a message he rightly titles: "America: the modern day valley of slaughter."

how can you serve your pastor & leadership?

2011-09-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Simple is often forgotten, so here I remind you with the reminder I needed when praying for church plants (or churches looking for a pastor):

1. Pray for the Launch Team

Make sure that those who currently exist as the body are constantly lifted up before the throne of grace in prayer. Pray for those who are filling extraordinary needs in the Church by dedicating time, service, effort, and energy to serve the Lord & His people. Be sure to lift the launch team up in fervent, frequent, and faithful prayer.

2. Pray for your Pastor

If your pastor is there on site, or if he has not yet arrived, or if you don't have a pastor and you don't know who he is yet, pray for him! Pray pray pray for the man that God has called to stand in the front lines of culture, postmodernism, Satan & his minions, and every humanistic ideology and faithfully and boldly proclaim the exclusive truth found in God's Word that Christ alone is the Savior who delivers His own from the eternal & divine wrath. Those whom God chooses to be pastors must be prayed over fervently as the Word of God will be proclaimed & he will undoubtedly face persecution—from within the church & from without. Pray for him!

3. Pray for the Churchgoers

Pray for those who currently make up the body of Christ in that particular church. Pray for God's Spirit to energize each of their hearts to serve tangibly in some way, to evangelize faithfully as God provides opportunity, to live holy lives evidencing the change that God has worked in their hearts. Pray that the people in the pew would passionately pursue God's truth. Pray that they would hunger for the proclaimed Word as a newborn longs for—and even vocally expresses the desire!—daily food. Pray that the people in the Church would pray daily on their knees, that repentance would be a daily action, that mortifying sin would be at the forefront of every Christian's mind. Pray that sin would be hated as much as a murderer longing to kill a familymember. Pray for Christ to be glorified in the church corporately! And pray that the knowledge amongst all God's people that in order for Christ to be glorified in His church corporately, he must be exalted as sovereign & supreme in each life individually.

4. Pray for the Unsaved in the Community

Beg God to have mercy on the unsaved. Pray that God would mercifully deliver the unsaved from the coming wrath. Pray that the lost in the community would not fill up the measure of their sins thus leading to God's wrath coming upon them to the utmost. Pray that God would save them! And the only way one is saved is by hearing the Word of God & believing the Word of Christ. Pray that each person in the pew would understand that when a nonbeliever dies he is personally, violently, eternally, consciously, and angrily punished by God Himself for all of eternity. Pray that this gripping truth arrests the hearts & minds of each believer in the Church. Pray that they launch out into their home lives with evangelistic zeal. Pray that they share with their children, parents, siblings, grandchildren, co-workers, bosses that judgment awaits for those who reject Christ. Pray that the believers in the Church would have a passionate pursuit of proclaiming the glorious riches of Christ to sinners. It is the gospel that saves, not moral revolution. It is the gospel that saves, not cultural reformation. It is the gospel that saves, not religious affections. It is the gospel that saves, not church-membership applications. It is the gospel that saves, not man-made & self-promoting religions. Pray that God's people in His Church would proclaim His message to hellbound sinners so God can use His shared Word to save His elect and receive the glory that He alone deserves.

These ideas are adapted & altered from Chris Brauns' When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search (Moody, 2011), pp.28 - 31.

if you hope for a future messianic Kingdom (which you should), here's what it will include...

2011-09-27T05:20:00.001-07:00

According to Isaiah 11, the One who comes from the "stem of Jesse" (v.1), who has the "Spirit of the Lord resting on Him" (v.2), and who "delights in the fear of the Lord" (v.3) will do the following in the future, literal, earthly messianic kingdom:

1. He will judge the poor with righteousness (v.4)

2. He will slay the wicked with the breath of His mouth (v.4b)

3. He will be righteous and faithful in all He does (v.5)

4. He will ensure that peace rules the earth—even amongst the animal kingdom (vv.6-8)

5. He will dwell on the Holy Mountain (=Jerusalem) and all people will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord (v.9)

6. He will be the One nations flock to in submission & worship (v.10)

Not sure about you, but I believe it is impossible to read these verses in a plain and normal fashion and come up with any other kind of interpretation. These events have not happened yet (literally) and the fact that God is faithful (cp. v.5b — Christ is clothed with "faithfulness as the belt around his waist") totally confirms that these characteristics will in fact happen just as the Scriptures say.

Christian—long for the future Kingdom when Christ will reign literally, physically, bodily, and sovereignly. O for that day!

abortion? pro-choice? watch this and see how it AFFECTS you

2011-09-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

Watch the "180" Movie put out by Living Water Ministries. This is a 33-movie clip that dramatically, graphically, and persuasively argues that abortion is murder.

Watch it here. Pass it on. If you want copies to give/send to people, contact them directly and they'll accommodate your needs.

what is your job as a churchmember?

2011-09-23T12:56:00.001-07:00

Excellent words from Paul Shirley:

Top Ten Responsibilities for those in the Pews

1. Sit under the preaching of God’s word (Romans 10:17)

2. Show love (1 Corinthians 12; Matthew 22:34-40)

3. Serve in the work of the ministry according to the gifts God has given you (Ephesians 4:12, 1 Corinthians 12)

4. Submit & Support your leaders (Hebrews 13:17)

5. Show up (Hebrew 10:25)

6. Sort through conflict biblically (Ephesians 4:1-3)

7. Share the Gospel with those around you (Matthew 28:18ff)

8. Seek the Lord through prayer (Ephesians 6:18)

9. Sacrificially give (2 Corinthians 9:7)

10. Speak with humility (James 3:1-12, 4:6)

Amen.

an element of bible interpretation

2011-09-23T05:40:00.000-07:00

When reading the Scriptures, keep your mind open for a rhetorical feature that can help you find the cohesion of the text. One way that the biblical writers can tie their discourses together is by using a feature called an inclusio. An inclusio is a device where the author says one thing and then "bookends" it later on with the same phrase. These "bookends" can tie the discourse together around that theme.

An example of this is Psalm 113:

1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD From this time forth and forever.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high,
6 Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 To make them sit with princes, With the princes of His people.
9 He makes the barren woman abide in the house As a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!

The inclusio in Ps 113 is the phrase "Praise the LORD!" (הַ֥לְלוּ יָ֙הּ). The entire psalm is cohesively joined together by means of this phrase that occurs at the outset (v.1a) as well as at the conclusion (v.9b)—"Praise the LORD." Yahweh is worthy of praise because of his sovereign character (vv.1-5a) as well as his sovereign condescension to be involved in the affairs of humble men (vv.5b-9a).

For this reason, we are called, summoned, and commanded to "Praise the LORD!"

Have you obeyed this biblical command today?

psalm 111 & psalm 112

2011-09-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

When you look at Psalm 111 and compare that with Psalm 112, you see that similarities clearly exist.

1. They are both acrostics — that means each line of the psalm begins with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet (sort of like a psalm that goes from A-Z).

2. Similar language can be seen throughout both psalms. For instance, both psalms refer to the "fear of the LORD," the contrast between the righteous & the wicked, and the attributes of "graciousness, mercy, and righteousness."

One of the interesting features of these psalms is that Psalm 111 is about the Divine Character of God and Psalm 112 is about the Godly character of the man of God.

I want to bring to the frontground a particular element:

Psalm 111:4 זֵ֣כֶר עָ֭שָׂה לְנִפְלְאֹתָ֑יו חַנּ֖וּן וְרַח֣וּם יְהוָֽה׃ (He has made his works to be a remembrance; gracious and compassionate is Yahweh.)

Note the verbal similarities with:

Psalm 112:4 זָ֨רַ֤ח בַּחֹ֣שֶׁךְ א֖וֹר לַיְשָׁרִ֑ים חַנּ֖וּן וְרַח֣וּם וְצַדִּֽיק׃ (Light arises in darkness for the upright; gracious and compassionate and righteous is he.)

When read in context Psalm 111:4 clearly refers to Yahweh and His character. The text in Psalm 112:4 refers to the Godly man and his character. The point? When the man of God looks at, studies, and meditates on the character of God, he himself will begin to emulate the character of His Master.

Thus, when you study God and Who He is (Ps 111), the Godly man cannot help but be affected—internally and externally—by responding in holy fear, reverence, godliness, and graciousness (Ps 112).

Paul says it similarly in Ephesians 4:32-5:1

Ephesians 4:32-5:2 — Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

I ask you: has your study of God (Ps 111) affected your reflection of God and being God's child (Ps 112)?

the heart of the man of God is steadfast.

2011-09-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

"Don't be a rolling stone that moves at every glitch of the earth; be an unmovable pillar that cannot be toppled even with the fiercest of earthquakes. Such is the man whose heart is fixed trusting in the LORD."

married men, remember this...

2011-09-20T04:59:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiastes 9:9 — Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

meaning is found in the text & it is fixed with the author.

2011-09-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

Remember that when reading the Bible, you want to find the authorial intent. That is, what did the author intend to communicate as revealed in the words that he wrote in the text? Sadly, this principle of meaning as being fixed and residing with the author of the text is under assault today—not just in biblical studies but in the secular world at large.

Here are a few helpful quotes from Robert Stein on meaning (from his Playing by the Rules):

“The Scriptures are to be interpreted in the same way that we interpret other forms of verbal communication. This is essentially the commonsense approach to communication” (21).

“All normal conversation assumes that the goal of interpretation is to understand what the speaker or writer means by the words he or she is using" (21).

“The goal when reading a Pauline text is not to experience or reduplicate Paul’s mental and emotional experiences when he wrote. Rather, the goal is to understand what Paul ‘meant,’ what he consciously sought to communicate to his readers by what he wrote” (23).

“The meaning of a text depends on the specific conscious will of the author. The biblical author is the determiner of the text’s meaning. Since this pattern of meaning was willed in the past (when the text was written), the meaning of a text can never change, for it is locked in history. It can no more change than any other historical event of the past can change. Even the author cannot change the meaning of the text, because he cannot change the past” (38).

And, Gordon Clark wrote in 1958 (in his Thales to Dewey: A History of Philosophy):

"If, however, terms had an infinite number of meanings, then all reasoning would come to an end. For if a word is to convey a significance, it must not only mean something, it must also not mean something. If it had all the meanings of all the terms in the dictionary, it owuld be useless in speech" (100).

Therefore, remember that when you come to the Bible, read it and ask yourself: what did the biblical author intend to communicate as he wrote down these words?

Once you understand what the biblical author meant in the words of his text, then (and only then!) can you apply that meaning to your own life (this is application or "significance").

pumped to proclaim my Potentate.

2011-09-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight I'm off to the Promenade to proclaim my Sovereign Savior, Jesus Christ, and the true satisfaction that only He can give. My text is Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 and I'll conclude with a plea from Philippians 3:9 to come to Christ and find true satisfaction & righteousness only in Him. Pray for me as I proclaim God's Word on the streets of Santa Monica with my dear friend & brother, Sherwood.

what effects should regeneration have on you?

2011-09-16T04:54:00.000-07:00

Paul described the conversion of the Thessalonian believers in these words: 1 Thessalonians 1:9 αὐτοὶ γὰρ περὶ ἡμῶν ἀπαγγέλλουσιν ὁποίαν εἴσοδον ἔσχομεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ πῶς ἐπεστρέψατε πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων (for they themselves report concerning us as to what kind of entrance we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols).

Paul speaks of conversion as a "turning" (ἐπεστρέψατε). The verbal form shows that it views the action of regeneration as a "whole". This is what happens at salvation. God so works in the sinner's heart (cf. Acts 13:48) that the sinner then turns (ἐπεστρέψατε) and repents.

Note there is a 2-fold aspect to this change:

(1) Turning TO God — True believers are those who are characterized as turning to God (πρὸς τὸν θεὸν). This is not only an initial turning at the moment of salvation but this walking with God, communing with God, delighting in God, repenting before God, glorifying God continues through the life of the believer.

(2) Turning FROM idols — Paul also records that believers turn from idols (ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων). This means that by default all humans are idolaters. We need to turn to God from idols. No one is by nature a worshiper of God. At the same time, everyone is born a worshiper. Everyone worships someone or something. But the believer is one who turns to God away from idols.

Have you experienced this regeneration and turning in your life? Have you turned to God? Have you turned from your idols?

Two effects that will result from this conversion as written by Paul include:

1) Serving the LORD - The first effect is that believers now will serve the Lord—the Living and True God (δουλεύειν θεῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἀληθινῷ). The Christian is enslaved (δουλεύειν) to the Living and the True God! The Christian is privileged to serve the LORD in his life. Are you?

2) Looking for the LORD - The second effect Paul specifies here is that believers wait for the coming of Christ (καὶ ἀναμένειν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν, ὃν ἤγειρεν ἐκ [τῶν] νεκρῶν, Ἰησοῦν τὸν ῥυόμενον ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς ὀργῆς τῆς ἐρχομένης). Believers are to wait for Christ (ἀναμένειν). Christ is the Son of God who now resides in heaven, he is the one whom God raised from the dead, He is Jesus of Nazareth, and He is the one who rescues us (ῥυόμενον) from the coming wrath. No other god or man-made idol can rescue sinners from the wrath of God. Only Christ can rescue from the wrath of Almighty God. Are you looking for the coming of Christ with great anticipation?

Here is a sermon I preached last week on this text explaining this more fully.

mark this well — the church's need for HOLINESS & DISCIPLINE.

2011-09-14T15:12:00.001-07:00

As for discipline, many churches neglect it because they fear it will reduce their membership and thus detract from their glory. But the truth of the matter is that the church which fails to exercise discipline is sure to lose both its self-respect and the respect of those without. Strange though it may seem, the world today despises the church precisely because the church is so worldly, and the members of the church by and large take no pride in their membership because it carries with it no distinction. On the other hand, the faithful exercise of discipline is sure to enhance the church's glory.

—R.B. Kuiper

how NOT to make your prayers an abomination

2011-09-14T05:08:00.000-07:00

Listen to the words of this Proverb:

Proverbs 28:9
מֵסִ֣יר אָ֭זְנוֹ מִשְּׁמֹ֣עַ תּוֹרָ֑ה גַּֽם־תְּ֜פִלָּת֗וֹ תּוֹעֵבָֽה׃
("he who turns away His hear from listening to the Law even His prayer is an abomination.")

Sometimes we overlook verses such as this one. The inspired Word of God so clearly says here that if a man does not obey (מִשְּׁמֹ֣עַ) the Law of God (Torah, תּוֹרָ֑ה) that even his prayer is an abomination.

An abomination (תּוֹעֵבָֽה) can refer to a host of things in the OT—all of which are completely wicked, loathful, and heinous in the eyes of God. Ezekiel 16:25 uses this word to refer to their harlotries with other God and how it is an abomination in the eyes of God. Amos 6:8 uses this word when the Lord says that he hates the arrogance of Israel. Psalm 14:1 says that the wicked/fools are those that commit abominable deeds.

How amazing is it to consider that prayer could be considered an "abomination" if the Law of God is not obeyed. The word מִשְּׁמֹ֣עַ refers to one who hears and obeys that which he has heard.

Simple application of this text: if a person does not listen and obey the Law of God (as found in the Word of God), then his prayers are simply abominable in God's sight.

Thus, if you don't obey, then don't pray.

Here is a parallel in the NT from the Apostle Paul:

Romans 8:7-8 — because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

words on worship from Spurgeon.

2011-09-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

"Praise should be the continual exercise of believers. It is the joyful work of heaven, it should be the continual joy of earth. . . We bless the Lord and the Lord alone; we have no music but for Him, but we do not always praise Him after the same fashion. As there were different instruments of music—the ten-stringed instrument or the decachord, the psaltry, the harp,—so too, there are different subjects, a subject for the morning and a subject for the evening; lovingkindness to be shown forth at one time, and faithfulness to be sung at another. I wish that men studied more the praise they profess to present unto God.

—Spurgeon (1834-1892)

watch this gospel message from Tony

2011-09-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

Tony is preaching here at Cerritos college. Tony is a friend of mine and a solid believer and faithful herald of God's Word.

See how Tony heralds the truth and refutes the error of the 'modern gospel' with sternness and gospel-centered compassion.

Biblical. Firm. Unswerving. Christ-exalting.

Watch it & go proclaim it yourself!

have you NOT heard about 180?

2011-09-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

You need to check out the trailer to 180. It will wet your appetite for what you *must* not miss!

See the 180 website and follow 180 on Twitter.

Watch the trailer here:

It premiers September 26th. You'll want to watch the whole thing & pass it on to others.

do you know the GOSPEL?

2011-09-12T05:21:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine said this line over the weekend: "You can't be saved by a Gospel that you don't know." Many Christians *claim* to walk with God and know Jesus Christ and yet if you ask them, explain to me the gospel & how I can get saved in two minutes, I wonder just how many *could* actually provide a biblical gospel presentation with Scriptural proof.

Could you?

A gospel that you don't know can't save. Never assume someone who calls himself a Christian is in fact a Christian. Probe. Ask them questions. Find out what they believe. Make sure they know the biblical Gospel. But even before that, make sure that you know the biblical gospel.

prayers for preaching God's magnificence.

2011-09-10T07:14:00.001-07:00

Please be in prayer for me as I preach with Tony Miano & the Third Street Heralds (and info here) in Santa Monica today. I cherish this group and the likemindedness in passionately proclaiming Christ and His glorious Gospel! I plan to be prepared to preach a number of sermons and interact with folks who may be considering the events of 9/11.

Pray also for me as I preach tomorrow in Sojourners at Grace Church. My text is 1 Thess 1:9-10 and the bones are burnin'.

Update on Street Preaching Last Night—Sept 9th
I was street preaching with my friend Sherwood & we had quite a few hecklers and troublemakers out on the Promenade. God allowed us to have some great conversations, share the gospel numerous times and interact with people who refuse to worship & submit to the God of the Bible. What an opportunity. Thanks for praying!

hume sept 2011 was a good family respite!

2011-09-08T21:08:00.001-07:00

updates.

2011-09-07T17:02:00.000-07:00

A few things recently going on:

1. Just got home from our family vacation to HUMELAKE. What a beautiful place! The highs were in the 70's and then we stepped out of the car at home today to 101 degrees! It was a great vacation of nothing but relaxing, wrestling with my boy, and hiking with my family. Great & restful time.

2. We rushed home to make it to the hospital for our ultrasound for Tikvah and the Drs. said that everything is going well with her. She is growing, healthy, and moving & all is well. They answered some of our questions we had regarding her heart-surgery and recovery time, etc. All is going great there!

3. I am preaching this weekend on 1 Thessalonians and my bones are aching till I can study & preach this book when I finally arrive in STL at Christ Fellowship Bible Church.

4. I listened to a portion of this video on my drive home from N. Cal today and realized that Tim Keller swung and missed 'big-time' on hell, wrath, and judgment (start at the 14 minute mark). Sad that he couldn't even articulate such fundamental biblical doctrines in a Q&A. Sad—very sad. BTW, I do believe in a literal, eternal punishment and I do preach it. I'm not afraid to shrink from proclaiming the truth cause Jesus, Jeremiah, Spurgeon, Edwards and other heroes of mine didn't.

5. I continue research & writing on my dissertation tomorrow early morning: Revelation's Use of the book of Jeremiah. So excited and pumped to be in the biblical text as I work on the NT's use of the OT.

That's enough for now...

phd exams are complete.

2011-09-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Thank you for praying for me this week as I took my PhD exams. After 7 exams and 100+ typed pages, I am through with my comprehensive exams. Now I just have to wait to hear whether I passed or not! Praise the LORD.

I don't think I've ever had a week where I've been so focused, so mentally drained, and so pressured but God, indeed, proves to be faithful. And He is worthy of praise. I had a Hebrew/OT exam, a Bible exposition/general knowledge exam, Theology exam, and four NT/Greek exams.

A few days ago I read the words to this psalm that has remained with me:

Psalm 150:1-6 — Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. 2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. 3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. 4 Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. 5 Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD.

the truth matters conference -- JMac preachin'

2011-09-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Watch MacArthur & others preach on the biblical Pauline theology (as opposed to what is commonly called: "the new perspective on Paul"—which is erroneous and heretical). Live stream the conference here.

Here's the schedule:

THURSDAY, September 1
9:00AM - 2:00PM	Open House at Grace to You
5:00PM	Registration
7:00PM	Session #1 with John MacArthur
FRIDAY, September 2
9:00AM	Session #2 with John MacArthur
10:30AM	Session #3 with John MacArthur
11:30AM	Lunch (on campus)
1:00PM	Session #4 with Phil Johnson
2:30PM	Session #5 with Jeff Williams
3:45PM	Session #6 with Don Green
5:00PM	Dinner (on campus)
7:00PM	Session #7 with John MacArthur
SATURDAY, September 3
9:00AM	Session #8 with John MacArthur
10:30AM	Session #9 with John MacArthur
12:00PM	Local Attractions
SUNDAY, September 4
8:30AM	Worship Service with John MacArthur
10:30AM	Worship Service with John MacArthur
6:00PM	Worship Service with John MacArthur

Watch Mac preach on the old—and biblical—perspective on Paul.

are you dead at 27?

2011-09-01T05:18:00.000-07:00

Excellent words from a dear friend & pastor. Don't die at 27! Read the post here.

update on PhD exams

2011-09-01T05:13:00.001-07:00

Thanks so much for praying! I have taken four of my seven written exams. The two exams I took yesterday were very tough but they're over! I have two more tomorrow (Greek grammar & syntax and then Pauline exegesis & theology). My last exam is Saturday morning (Gospels, Acts, and non-Pauline literature).

Thanks for praying. I'm encouraged by them!

worldliness.

2011-08-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

"Worldliness is the set of practices in a society, its values and ways of looking at life, that make sin look normal and righteousness look strange. It is the view of the world that puts the sinner at its center and God to the periphery" (David Wells, God in the Wasteland, 86).

In my humble estimation, Wells couldn't be more spot on.

here’s why you should praise the LORD!

2011-08-30T05:05:00.000-07:00

Psalm 147 provides a host of reasons why believers must praise the LORD. The psalm begins and ends with the same phrase which ties the psalm together as a unit: Praise the LORD (הַ֥לְלוּ יָ֙הּ). This phrase also occurs in v.12 as well which divides the psalm into halves.

I. Your Duty Is To Praise the LORD! (vv.1, 12, 20b)

II. The Reasons Why You Must Praise the LORD! (vv.2-11; 13-20a)

The reasons include but are not limited to the following:
1. The Lord builds and gathers His people (v.2)
2. The Lord heals and binds up the wounded & brokenhearted (v.3)
3. The Lord counts the stars & gives all of them names! (v.4) [**let your mind ponder this thought for a while**]
4. The Lord's wisdom & understanding is infinite (v.5)
5. The Lord exalts the humble and humbles the prideful (v.6)
6. The Lord provides food & rain upon the earth for His creatures (vv.7ff)
7. The Lord is the one who gives snow like wool (v.16)
8. The Lord sends His word and can melt the ice and cold (vv.17-18)

These are just a *few* reasons why you and I must worship the LORD. God's Word compels us to come and consider the magnificence of God and worship Him in response to who He is!

please pray for my PhD exams this week.

2011-08-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Please remember to pray for me as I take my seven written comprehensive exams this week for my PhD program. Pray that God gives me great recollection of the books I read & the things I studied. Here is my schedule:

EXAMS:

1. Theology
2. OT & Hebrew
3. Bible Ex
4. NT #1 - NTI, hermeneutics, crit methods & backgrounds (LXX, Fathers, intertestamental)
5. NT #2 - Greek Grammar, syntax, and NT text crit
6. NT #3 - Pauline epistles (translation, exegesis, bibl theo, intro)
7. NT #4 - Gospels, Acts, and nonPauline lit (trans, exegesis, bibl theo, intro)

SCHEDULE:
Monday 9am Theology
Monday 3pm OT & Hebrew

Wednesday 9am Bible Ex
Wednesday 3pm NT #1

Friday 9am NT#2
Friday 3pm NT#3

Saturday 9am NT#4

what does it mean to be CHOSEN by GOD?

2011-08-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to free video lectures by R.C. Sproul. He apparently gave these lectures 'back in the day' (just watch them and see his hair and you'll know what I mean!). At any rate, these are superb lectures worthy of your careful consideration. I think he is right on with God's election & God's sovereignty.

Topics include:
— God's sovereignty
— What is free will?
— Man's radical fallenness
— Does God create unbelief?
— The divine initiative

Watch & be fed from solid, biblical, God-centered theology.

what is it to be a MAN?

2011-08-25T15:43:00.001-07:00

Biblical masculinity does not demand to be served but itself serves and sacrifices for the good of others. And, the call to lead is a call to repentance, humility, and risk taking.

So, men, be men.