Sunday, September 30, 2007

Learning to Exposit

I'm off to the Expositor's Conference. I spend three days with MacArthur and Lawson. What could be better? :=)

Friday, September 28, 2007

New Young Generation is Skeptical of Christianity -- A Surprise?

Read what Barna.org says introducing the new frontline article:

As the nation’s culture changes in diverse ways, one of the most significant shifts is the declining reputation of Christianity, especially among young Americans. A new study by The Barna Group conducted among 16- to 29-year-olds shows that a new generation is more skeptical of and resistant to Christianity than were people of the same age just a decade ago.

The article continues by noting:

The study shows that 16- to 29-year-olds exhibit a greater degree of criticism toward Christianity than did previous generations when they were at the same stage of life. In fact, in just a decade, many of the Barna measures of the Christian image have shifted substantially downward, fueled in part by a growing sense of disengagement and disillusionment among young people. For instance, a decade ago the vast majority of Americans outside the Christian faith, including young people, felt favorably toward Christianity’s role in society. Currently, however, just 16% of non-Christians in their late teens and twenties said they have a "good impression" of Christianity.

This is very telling:

Even among young Christians, many of the negative images generated significant traction. Half of young churchgoers said they perceive Christianity to be judgmental, hypocritical, and too political. One-third said it was old-fashioned and out of touch with reality.

And finally,

When young people were asked to identify their impressions of Christianity, one of the common themes was "Christianity is changed from what it used to be" and "Christianity in today’s society no longer looks like Jesus." These comments were the most frequent unprompted images that young people called to mind, mentioned by one-quarter of both young non-Christians (23%) and born again Christians (22%).
These are not only staggering statistics but also discouraging statistics as we consider the future of America's Evangelical church. In all, these statistics do not shock me, but what does shock me is that when America's church is trying with all its might to be more relevant to culture (e.g. the Emerging Church) and to be more "acceptable" to society, yet society itself recognizes that this is not true and authentic Christianity. It means alot when the secular world says of us, "Christianity in today's society no longer looks like Jesus." So we see that we are no longer living in such a way as to be radical witnesses for Jesus.

Granted, the article has some good and helpful notes, but let us take this to heart. Shame on us for making the church fit right in with culture. It deeply grieves me when I hear nonbelievers say that Christians today live no different than pagans do, and, if you look at statistics on divorce rates, abortions, acceptance of a homosexual lifestyle, it is no wonder why people say these things.

May we take Paul's exhortation to the church in Ephesus to heart when he writes:

Ephesians 5:1-5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 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. 3 But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

It's The Fire In The Bones...

Fire In My Bones

That’s right. I have such a love for preaching the word of God that when I don’t, I feel like Jeremiah, when he says that if he were to not speak what Yahweh tells him to speak, “Jeremiah 20:9 Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.” That’s exactly how I feel. I always want to preach.

Tonight I preached at a rehabilitation center that I regularly go to. I preached from Mark 10:13-31 on being an inheritor of eternal life. I have been so encouraged over the last few weeks as I have been preparing for this message on the rich young Jewish ruler from this text. It is so rich! Furthermore, I am even more blown away by the way that Jesus evangelizes to this young man. I think a fascinating study would be to take a look at all the various ways (or methods) that Jesus shares the gospel with various people. It is so interesting how Jesus tailors the gospel (not the message, but the method) to certain situations and individuals. He is a genius – of course, he is God! In any case, I have thoroughly enjoyed delving into this text recently. I have found myself returning time and time again to the riches in these verses. I just cannot wait to get the message out. I cannot wait to have the gospel proclaimed.

That is one proof which confirms to me that I know that I must be a preacher. I simply cannot do anything else. I don’t know how to manage a business. I don’t know how to be an engineer. I don’t know how to use a scalpel and perform a surgery (you would never want me to get close to you with a scalpel!). I don’t know how to work with cells in the field of biology. Nor do I have any desire to be in these professions. The sole, singular, supreme and sovereignly planted desire in me is to preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2).

Therefore, I conclude by saying that I must preach. It is in my blood to preach. It is my burning passion to preach. I am always ready to preach. I live to preach God’s truth to people. I pray that God would use me some day for His ultimate glory in a ministry where I can preach the truth. And if I don’t preach, then may I echo with the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthian church, “1 Corinthians 9:16 woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”

Evangelism, Witnessing, Soul-Winning – A Lost Cause?

Evangelism, Witnessing, Soul-Winning – A Lost Cause?

I heard a message yesterday from a good friend of mine who is the president of a very well known organization. He shared his heart about the drastic decrease in numbers in missionaries who are being sent from the USA to foreign countries to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. He noted that we are in a serious recession in our overall giving towards missions here in the states. Furthermore, not only are we not sending missionaries to foreign countries as much as before, but now other countries are sending out more missionaries than we are. Foreign countries are even sending missionaries to US – here in the states! How sad is that.

We are the wealthiest country in the world – overall. That is not something to pride about, yet it ought to humble us when we, as the church, look at the amount of money we give towards world missions. Do we, as members of a local church, even know who our missionaries are? Do we love them? Do we contact them? Do we encourage them? Do we pray for them?

Witnessing, evangelizing, soul-winning are NOT optional for the believer in Jesus Christ. One cannot be a Christian and not be an evangelist. One cannot be a blood-bought sinner redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and be apathetic toward witnessing and soul-winning.

This does not mean, however, that every single individual has to pack his bags and go overseas – though that would be nice – but it does mean that every single person must be a witness for Christ wherever Christ has placed you in life. For some, that may mean packing the bags and going to a country to spread the good news of Christ. For others, it may mean being a witness at work. Whatever the case, let us hear the words from the Apostle Paul:

Romans 10:13-17 13 for "Whoever will call upon the name of the LORD will be saved." 14 How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!" 16 However, they did not all heed the glad tidings; for Isaiah says, "LORD, who has believed our report?" 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Oh would it be that God would send laborers into his vineyard – both near and far. Let us remember, evangelizing the lost is not optional it is mandatory. For how can those who are dead in their trespasses and sins believe without hearing the Gospel of Christ? God has graciously left us believers with the responsibility to be evangelists to His glory whether it be here locally or overseas.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Respectable Sins -- Let's Confront Them

Jerry Bridges says:

“In our human values of civil laws, we draw a huge distinction between an
otherwise ‘law-abiding citizen’ who gets an occasional traffic ticket and a
person who lives a ‘lawless’ life in contempt and utter disregard for all laws.
But the Bible does not seem to make that distinction. Rather, it simply says sin
– that is, all sin without distinction – is lawlessness” (p. 20).

Monday, September 24, 2007

The Issue of Authority

If there is one thing that I am in tune with these days -- especially being a Youth Pastor -- it is observing the lack of obedience (our oughright apathy!) to authorities.

Thabiti Anyabwile gives a great article here on Question Authority. I recommend the read. It's very helpful. And boy, one that we all need to be reminded of.

Pray for the Piper's

John Piper's son, Abraham and his wife Molly, were planning to deliver their second child on Sunday, Sept 23 (yesterday) when they found out on Saturday, Sept 22 that there was no heartbeat. Ultrasound confirmed it. The baby was dead.

Piper gives a brief blog about his thoughts and the events that transpired these past few days. Let's keep the family in prayer.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Church Growth -- Three Ingredients

It was not too long ago that I heard a pastor say that there are three main ingredients which are needed for a church to experience growth. I would like to post them here for our reflection:

1) Prayer
I would like to elaborate on this for a moment. It is imperative, I believe, that a church be founded upon the spiritual discipline of prayer. Unless a church is communing with God in prayer, they will have no impact. For a church function without complete reliance upon the grace of God is pure speculation and pride, at best. May be be pastors, churches and members who are firmly committed to the necessary doctrine of prayer. May we spend much time communing with God in prayer as we labor and lift our shepherds, ministries, members, services and such up to the Lord in fervent and frequent prayer.

2) Holiness

Little needs to be said here. Unless the church is pure, there is little hope that the church will have a great impact for our Savior. Is it any wonder why churches have little impact in some communities. For when a visitor attends a church, he sees no difference in the conduct of people than if he were in his secular environment which he finds himself throughout the week. When people come to our churches, do they see a difference? I mean, a radical difference? They ought to. May we be holy in our own personal lives. May we zealously and passionately strive to be Christlike in every single aspect of life - excluding nothing. May we strive to "Be Holy for our God is Holy" (Lev 19:2).

3) Testimonies

What is simply meant here is the personal testimony that we as individuals can have in the community. The life-changing testimony of God's grace in how He took our broken, dead, spiritually helpless and wretched state and has transformed (and it is still in process!) our lives to be conformed to the image of His Son is powerful! People watch the way we live. People see if our testimony matches our walk. May we be leaders that are so eager to give our testimony of God's life-changing grace that has saved us from our sins, washed us by the blood of the perfect and spotless Lamb and given us a new hope and a lasting joy in our future glorification.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

The Need For Expository Preaching

These quotes are from an article by Bryan Chapell, “The Future of Expository Preaching.” I found them encouraging and challenging. May you hear the cry for the true proclamation of God's Holy Word as well...

“On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. The Old Testament figures appear in order to indicate that Jesus is the culmination of their message and all that they represent. As Jesus tells his disciples elsewhere, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms…Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44-45). Thus, the expositor’s goal is to dianoigo and diermeneuo (“open” and “unfold”) the meaning of the Scriptures. Since their culminating and comprehensive purpose is to reveal the glory of Christ’s person and work, exposition cannot avoid him without abandoning Scripture’s aim" (p.75).


"If Christ is NOT more beautiful to us than anything - more precious than gold, more fulfilling than success, more lovely than life itself - then his absence in others' lives does not seriously disturb us. Only when we discover how profound is the goodness of life in him do we truly grieve for those who do not have his blessing in their life" (p.79).

"The goal of expository preaching that has a future is to preach him - regularly, pervasively, truly - from all the Scriptures" (p.80).

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Shepherding from Psalm 23

The Master Shepherd from Psalm 23

Psalm twenty-three is perhaps one of the most familiar psalms ever to be penned. David, a shepherd himself, wrote this psalm with many shepherding metaphors interwoven through this psalm. For my preaching lab in seminary yesterday, one man preached a message from this psalm giving us a picture of Jesus Christ as the Master Shepherd and how we must, as undershepherds, endeavor to imitate the shepherding as exemplified by God Himself.

In this sermon, he listed fourteen marks of how we must imitate the Master Shepherd. For lack of time, I will list them and give a brief description under each.

1. We must make certain that we know that the Lord is our Shepherd.
The Lord is my shepherd – Do we as pastors, teachers, elders and deacons even know the true Shepherd ourselves? Do we really know the gospel which we are declaring? Do we really love the Savior whom we are inviting others to savor? May we, as shepherds, make certain that we know and love the true and great Shepherd.


2. We must know how to satisfy the sheep.
I shall not want (or literally, “I shall not lack”) – Do we know how to satisfy our sheep so that they are lacking in nothing. Do we know the full counsel of God so that we can nourish our sheep from the rich truths of God’s word?


3. We must know how to make them lie down in safety.
He causes me to lie down in green pastures – The picture of green pastures is that of a shepherd leading his sheep to a place where they can, after they have eaten and are full, to lie down in lush, green, peaceful and safe pastures free from all harm. Do we lead them to safety so they can lie down and rest in safety?


4. We must lead them by finding still and safe waters for them to drink from.
He leads me beside still waters – The shepherd of these sheep knows where the quiet and calm waters are as opposed to the rough and rushing waters of a river that can overpower a sheep by drowning it in the engulfing waters. Can we lead our people to the sweet, pure and still waters of God’s Word so they can be satisfied free from harm?


5. We must know how to help and restore our sheep.
He restores my soul – Do we know how to restore our sheep when they veer off the proper path? Do we know how to chastise them with love and gentleness so that they can be restored to a right relationship with the True Shepherd?


6. We must lead our sheep into paths of righteousness.
He guides me in paths of righteousness – Do we lead our sheep into paths of righteousness that will be edifying for them? Are we careful with our exegesis, our application, our habits and preparations as we prepare to lead our sheep?


7. We must lead our sheep for God’s ultimate glory.
On account of His name – Do we lead our sheep for God’s ultimate glory? Or do we zealously desire the applause and accolades from the sheep? We must be such shepherds that are leading and shepherding so that the True Shepherd receives all honor, glory and adoration!


8. We must know how to lead our people through the dark and tough valleys.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear evil – Do we, first of all, recognize where the deep and dark valleys are? Second of all, do we as their shepherds, know how to lead our sheep through these dark valleys? Sometimes, people must go through dark and tough times in life (suffering, death, loss of job, etc.). Are we prepared as their shepherds to lead them and show them God’s goodness in the midst of these trying times?


9. We must lead with a rod and a staff to protect, guide and redirect our sheep.
For You are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me – Just as the shepherd uses the rod to protect his sheep by batting away wolves, so we must be equipped and ready to protect our sheep by using the Word of God to veer away false teachers and enemies of the gospel who teach things which are “not in accordance with godliness.” Do we use the staff to lovingly and gently redirect our sheep onto the right path after they have sinned?


10. We must observe, understand the context and prepare our people for where we are.
You have prepared a table before me, in the presence of my enemies – Though I think this metaphor is referring to God as Host, I’ll continue with the shepherding imagery for the sake of my topic at hand. Are we able to go before our sheep and prepare the way for them, to prepare the table for the Word of God to be brought to bear in their lives. Do we know how to teach them so the family, their work environments, or mutual relationships can be used to be a light and a witness before a lost and dying world?


11. We must watch over and protect our sheep.
You anoint my head with oil – This is the shepherding image when a shepherd would anoint the nose of the sheep so that bugs and insects would not crawl in there and irritate the sheep and literally drive the sheep crazy. Do we know how to “anoint our sheep” so that false teaching does not creep into their lives and destroy the pure and undefiled Word of God?


12. We must take care of and abundantly supply the needs of the sheep.
My cup overflows – Can we give our sheep an adequate dose of the riches contained in God’s Word so that they leave full and eager to study the Word more on their own throughout the week? How wonderful it is for us as preachers to so excite our people, to so inflame their hearts, to so ignite a passion in our people that they would leave with a greater vision of God’s greatness and a passionate desire to live every moment for God’s glory.


13. We must lead so the sheep know that goodness and prosperity will ultimately come.
Surely goodness and covenant lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life – Can we give them the “big picture” so that our sheep know that God’s goodness and God’s sovereignty are the overarching themes of all that He does. Do we lead them in such a way that they know that as hard as things may be in this life, the loyal, covenant-keeping and steadfast love of our God will be a real and perfect realization when we enter glory?


14. We must point people to eternity.
And I will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever – The end goal of all that we do is to worship and bring glory to our God not only in this life, but also for all of eternity as we will bow before our great King and worship our awesome Shepherd crying out “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

I Love Thy Law -- Essay #3

I Love Thy Law, O God

It is in this essay that I want to express my love for and commitment to God’s word. Perhaps there is no greater place to begin than in the one hundred and nineteenth psalm where the psalmist cries out in nearly every verse his love for, commitment to, reliance upon and the authority of God’s precious statutes.

Psalm 119:16 I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. This verse brings the whole psalm, all one hundred and seventy-six verses, to a single thought, namely, the utter delight of the Word of God by the man of God.

The cry of my heart is the exact representation of the psalmists here Psalm 119. Because God’s word is holy, sufficient, inspired, infallible and comforting, we have as our command and demand to meditate on it. We shall find our hope, joy, delight and refuge in God in His word. For it is only in the Word of God that we have an anchor for the soul.

It is in this brief essay that I want to express a few ways in which our love for God’s law ought to be manifest in our daily lives. Let us never forget that our theology (in this case, bibliology) must express itself in doxology. Our love for God’s word must result in a righteous living in obedience to God’s word.

First, our love for God’s law ought to express itself in constant reading of it. This is an overlooked necessity of the Christian who claims to have a dependence upon and a love for God’s law. For one to constantly find refuge in God and His character, he must be constantly bathing in the pure and refreshing Word from the Living God. There is no other option.

This must not simply be a one time occurrence during the week. It must not be a five minute quick “read-through-a-chapter” in the evening before bed when our minds have been “shut-off”. Rather, this must be the first priority of the Christian every day. It must be the food and sustenance that we need to go through our day so to know how we can do “all to the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31).

How often is it, when we find ourselves consuming our time watching the television for hours I without end, sitting in traffic for a time every day, for surfing the internet at length, for exercising our bodies daily. These activities may be profitable and can be used to God’s glory, but how often is it when these activities, as eternally insignificant as they may be, crowd out our daily consumption of God’s written word.

Let us, therefore, find ourselves in constant reading of God’s word. Daily, hourly, constantly nourishing on and feeding upon the strength and meat revealed in the pages of Scripture.

Second, our love for God’s law ought to express itself in constant reflection of it. The sheer act of reading the Bible and closing it and placing it back on the shelf until the next day is not the goal. The goal is to read God’s word and then to reflect on it through the course of the day. It was spoken of John Bunyan that if you were to cut him, “he would bleed Bibline.” May that be characteristic of each and every one of us. Psalm 119:48 And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes. May we be those who are so saturated with God and His word that every thought that we think, every word that we speak, every place that we go, every motion that we make would be – in some way – a reflection of God and His word working in our lives.

May it never be that we live a day without meditation upon God and His word. May it never be that we make decisions, lead families, head-up an organization or partake in any of the most mundane activities of life without meditation upon and absolute love for God’s word.

Third, our love for God’s law ought to express itself in constant delight of it. This was the heart of the psalmist when he noted in Psalm 119:35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. So may it be said of our heart. May we pray to our God and ask that He would cause us to walk in the paths directed in God’s word for we delight in His law. Hear it again when he notes, Psalm 119:47 I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love.

Is our heart constantly delighting in God’s law. Are we finding our inner joy, our inner strength, our inner excitement, our inner exuberance from the Living Word of God? May we find utter delight and satisfaction in reveling in the perfect and clear word of God. The psalmist is clear and single-minded when he prays to the Lord, Psalm 119:77 May Your compassion come to me that I may live, For Your law is my delight.

So I as you, Do you love God’s Law. Do you read it repeatedly and habitually? Is it a priority in your daily life? Do you read God’s word more often than you read secular novels and fiction books? Do you meditate on and reflect upon the understandable yet the incomprehensible word of God? Do you find that you delight in it? Do you love reading the Scriptures? Do you long to be in your quiet room to be alone with the Savior in reading His Word? May we find our heart-cry with the psalmist in pleading with the Lord, Psalm 119:174 I long for Your salvation, O LORD, And Your law is my delight.

Your pastor and friend,
Geoffrey R. Kirkland

September 17, 2007

Monday, September 17, 2007

Saturday, September 15, 2007

A Good Legacy

I just read this quote regarding John Wesley:

He died in 1791 after a long life of tireless labor and unselfish
service. His fervent spirit and hearty brotherhood still survives in the body
that cherishes his name.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Beware for Joel Osteen -- He does NOT preach the Biblical Gospel

You MUST watch this video of Joel Osteen preaching at Lakewood Church in Houston. He not only twists Scriptures and the Gospel, but he misses every single point of orthodoxy in his preaching here. It is a short 3 minute clip.

I do not say this to bad-mouth Joel. However, I do say this because he is a heretic in sheep's clothing. He is a false teacher who seems to be preaching the gospel, but he is NOT preaching the biblical Gospel.

Acts 20:29-31 29 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 "Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.

Titus 1:10-14 10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.

May we be those who pray earnestly for Joel, his wife, Victoria, his family and his church -- that that they may realize the truth that we are NOT born healthy and "good" people. But that Jesus Christ has died and paid for all our sins so that by faith in Jesus Christ alone apart from works, we may be saved. May God be honored to bring the true biblical gospel to this man.

More Money -- Never Enough

It's true. The more money you get, the more money you want. Count on it. Here's an example to verify this fact. From the Wall Street Journal:

According to research published recently by the Washington-based Institute
for Policy Studies, the 20 highest-paid corporate executives earned on average
$36 million in total compensation last year. The typical CEO of a Fortune 500
company didn't do quite as well, but at $10.8 million didn't do so badly --
that's more than 364 times the pay of an average employee. Forty years ago, top
CEOs earned 20 to 30 times what average workers earned.
The trend has ignited
a flurry of attention in Washington. Last year the Securities and Exchange
Commission ordered companies to reveal more detail about executive pay,
...

So it proves true...
1 Timothy 6:9-11 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
Let's beware and guard ourselves from this easy fall.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

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