Preach the Word! 25-Articles on Preaching [eBook]

As we've journeyed through the Summer Expository Preaching Class with the men of Christ Fellowship Bible Church, I've endeavored to compile many of the thoughts into twenty-five brief essays all related to the topic of expository preaching.

Download the eBook — Preach the Word! 25-Articles on Preaching.

More resources on preaching at vassaloftheking.com or at the CFBC website.

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Pastoral Burnout: Its Causes & Its Cure

The statistics are overwhelming...

Many pastors just, well, "burn out." What can be done? Can anything be done?

I wrote an article on Pastoral Burnout: Its Causes & Its Cure:

"What is a pastor to do when feeling “exhausted and depleted”? Should pastors entering the ministry do so on the assumption that they will one day burn out and throw in the towel? Where can such tired ministers turn? Where can discouraged shepherds go for the shepherding of their own souls?

The issue of pastoral burnout must be understood in the context of five important factors, each of which is directly related to gospel ministry."

The article is here: http://www.ecclesiam.org/journal/pastoral-burnout-its-causes-and-its-cure

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Daily Issues in the Life of a Pastor [10-part audio blog]

10-part audio blog: "Daily issues in the life of the pastor"

AUDIO = http://bit.ly/29mAy5q

Topics include: "Describe your...

1. prayer life

2. studies

3. home life

4. weekly priorities/schedule

5. the training of leaders (leadership development)

6. evangelism

7. elder-meetings

8. Sunday routine in preparing for corporate worship

9. discipling of children

10. fellowship & accountability

www.CFBCSTL.org

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Pastoral Summer Internship at CFBC

CFBC Informal, Pastoral, Summer Internship.

The Goal: To train men of God who aspire to pastoral ministry with hands-on experience and careful shepherding by CFBC’s elders.

The Format: Four key elements will be emphasized:

1) EXPOSITORY PREACHING CLASS - 7 Friday nights — this will be a 7-week summer course taught by Pastor Geoff explaining some of the fundamentals of expository preaching. We don't just need more preaching today. We need more of the right kind of preaching.

2) PREACHING AT A CFBC MID-WEEK STUDY — this provides an opportunity for the man to prepare a sermon and to preach it first to pastor Geoff so as to receive feedback, ideas, and suggestions. Then, the man will be given the opportunity to teach at the mid-week church service before the corporate prayer meeting.

3) DISCUSSIONS REGARDING PASTORAL MINISTRY AND HARDSHIPS — these opportunities with pastor Geoff & the CFBC shepherd-elders will be guided with helpful discussion questions that speak to the struggles and joys of pastoral ministry and the things that just cannot be taught in a classroom-context.

4) PASTORAL VISITATION — these important occasions allow the intern to travel with pastor Geoff to do a home visit to one of the CFBC members. This will allow the intern to see what shepherding from house to house is like and the questions that are asked and how to read the Word, listen attentively, and pray earnestly for the flock of God as loving and diligent shepherds.

The purpose is to provide opportunities for men who aspire to full-time pastoral ministry to serve with and do ministry alongside of the CFBC elders for real, hands-on training and opportunities.



www.CFBCSTL.org

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Christian! For the Joy of Your Soul & for the Glory of Christ, Practice Hospitality in Your Home.

Christian! For the Joy of your Soul & for the Glory of Christ, Practice Hospitality in Your Home
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

The New Testament provides a marvelous means of Christian growth and fellowship among the people of God: opening your home and sacrificially serving others. This is called hospitality. Believers are to practice hospitality (Romans 12:13). Furthermore, Peter writes that Christians should be hospitable to one another without complaint (1 Peter 4:9). The Scripture even requires hospitality to be a present reality and a necessary qualification for all the men of God who serve in the service of pastor-elder (1 Timothy 3:2). Since God out of His great love instructs His children to love one another in this particular way, how can we practice hospitality since it’s sadly neglected in our society.

In this essay, I want to provide 4 simple tips for you to practice hospitality in your home.

1. Keep it simple.
Hospitality does not mean exquisite, lavish, five-course meal. Hospitality can be very simple. In fact, it could be reasonably argued that it should be quite simple since believers are to pursue and practice this wonderful discipline frequently. Not many people can pull off an exquisite, five-course meal every week. But everyone can open up their home with regularity. And that’s the point. Keep it simple so that you can do it frequently. Don’t overdo or outdo yourself. Serve your guests. Make the home presentable. Clean before they arrive. But keep it simple. Be yourself. You’re inviting people into your home. So, let them see what your home is really like. Keep it simple. If it is a meal, or a dessert, or just tea or coffee, keep it simple and warm and friendly. Remember this! Hospitality does not mean that you go over the top every week to impress people.

2. Remember the goal.
Why does God provide so many references in the Scriptures for believers to show hospitality, serve one another, encourage one another, and fellowship together? Because God sees it as vitally important and supremely necessary to our spiritual growth. Mark it on your mind: it’s impossible to grow without regular Christian fellowship. You can go to church and hear the Word preached and that’s great! But without Christian fellowship and serving the body, you’re closed off from the flock and they’re cut off from you and it’s quite hard to grow in Christ when you’re severed from His Body. So, the goal of hospitality is quite simple: to actively serve others by opening your home, inviting them into your world, seeking to speak about Christ together, and to be mutually encouraged. Hospitality is not simply having a group over to watch the football game. Hospitality is the opening of one’s home to other people -- to strangers, to fellow believers, to missionaries, to those in need, and to the lost. Because this is the goal, a bit of preparation is in order.

3. Direct the conversation.
Before the guests arrive, seek to have a game plan in order. Know a few good questions that would allow Christ to be honored, the gospel to be rehearsed, and the encouragement of the saints to take place. If the goal is to serve others, then do that by providing a friendly, welcoming, inviting, and Godly environment for those who will enter the home. Also, as others enter into your world in the privacy of your home then be yourself. If you have small children, remember that others will see small children do what small children do -- and that’s ok! As you seek to speak about Christ to one another for the upbuilding of the believers present, then carefully and deliberately guide the conversation. Ensure that good questions are asked, and when answers are given that should be pursued further, ask open-ended questions to hear more of the guest’s heart. It would be profitable to have a Bible nearby to open the Word together to share what you are reading and learning in your own times with God. You could ask what they have been convicted by lately from God’s Truth. You could ask how the sermons have touched their souls. You could ask what they’ve been praying through. You could ask what sins they’re battling with. You could ask how their marriage is. You could inquire as to how the parenting of their children is going. And then -- after you’ve chatted together, consider having a time of corporate prayer together as you seek the face of God, pray for each other, pray for your church, and pray for the gospel to spread. This can happen! It just takes a bit of preparation and planning and prayer ahead of time.

4. Pray for fruit.
Why hospitality? It is to stir up one another in the pursuit of godliness. It also serves to open up one’s home for those in need. For missionaries and those traveling in the ministry, opening up one’s home can provide a warm, family-environment for them as they are away from their own home. So pray! Pray for fruit! Pray for lasting fruit! Pray that God would stir all the people involved (whether 2 people or 10 people) to be practicing hospitality on their own as the ripple effect spreads through the people of God. Pray that God would be honored, that homes would be opened, that hearts would be touched, and that the lost would be won. Before the hospitality occasion, pray that God would guide the conversation by His Spirit and that all that would be done and said would glorify Christ. During the time of hospitality, be sure to pray together and engage in worship. Afterwards, pray that God would stir up His people to pursue this Christian practice fervently.  In fact, one way that fruit can come from hospitality is to ask the guests that have come into your home if they have shown hospitality before and what their experience is like. Then, it may be good to ask how they can show hospitality to others and even encouraging them to begin with their own church membership roster and just go down the line of families and invite them over.

Much happens in the home that cannot happen the few minutes that believers chat before the service begins or after it’s over. In the home, it’s a relaxed, unhurried, and warm environment where you can ask heart-probing questions, listen intently, and allow the Spirit to lead as He wills. You can pray together. You can enjoy each other as you serve your guests in the confines of your own personal home. This is special. This is sacrificial. This is touching. This is rare in our day. And that is one reason why we are strangers and aliens in this world, namely, because we actively open up our homes to serve others, become vulnerable with them, to encourage them, and to edify one another through Christ-centered, gospel-refreshing conversations. So, dear Christian, for the joy of your soul and for the glory of Christ, practice hospitality in your home!

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Training Your Children in the Home to Sit Still in the Pew.

Training your children in the home to sit still in the pew.
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

There are many churches that encourage families to worship together on Sundays in corporate worship. There are those with the perspective that it behooves children to learn to sit still, sit quietly, hear the preaching, and observe God’s people worshiping the Living Savior. For those who go to church with children (even small children!) with the hope and desire of seeing them sit still in the pew, the question might be asked: how do I do this? What’s the magic trick? Honestly, there’s not one. But there are some practical tips that I can offer that may help those who choose to bring their small children into corporate worship so that they can train their children in the home to sit still in the pew.

In this essay, I’ll provide some practical tips and helps for parents in this regard.

1. Treat family worship in the home as preparation for corporate worship with the church. — Make a regular practice of gathering the ‘little church’ together in the home each day for the worship of God and view that as a way of practicing for ‘corporate worship’ on Sundays. Begin in the home and train on the couch & trust that in due time the children will sit still and pay attention in the pew.

2. Don't allow in that worship time at home what you wouldn't allow in the pew. — If you don’t allow your children to kick and scream in church then don’t allow that in family worship either. Be intentional to allow in the brief time of family devotions what you would permit in church. Be careful to set the barometer high so that the children will learn well each day in the home so that when they sit in the pew it’ll be an overflow of what they’ve learned in the home.

3. Work on sitting still for small periods of time and gradually increase that time for the children to sit still. — Maybe, like all parents, you think: my kids have a hard time sitting still! Of course! So be diligent to train the children to sit still. It takes time and it takes patience and effort. Work on having the child, or children, sit still for a small period of time with a book on his lap and increase that time as days and weeks go by and you’ll be training your child to sit still.

4. Constantly explain the ultimate goal and purpose of this preparation: because God is worthy & Christ deserves our worship, reverence & honor. — The goal is not just getting kids to sit still. The goal is not even getting children to behave well at church. The goal is the heart: heart-transformation! So frequently speak of the goal of family worship, the reason for sitting still, and the goal of private, family, and corporate worship: our God deserves our praise!

5. Remain faithful and consistent in your training and in your discipline when the children disobey you. — When a child sins, he must be disciplined. When you are teaching and training, the hard but necessary element for parents is consistency. Parents must remain faithful in the training and discipline when the kids disobey -- especially in the home.

6. Speak much of the beauty of Christ, His atoning blood, and His sweet satisfactions for He alone is preeminently supreme. — Parents have the inestimable privilege of showing the children a big God. That is, parents must paint before the children a most beautiful Christ, a supreme Delight, and a Friend of Sinners. This constant message will convey to the children that the parents absolutely adore their God and earnestly want the kids to know and worship Him also!

7. Enjoy the journey and remember the blessed privilege that God has given you to teach those little (and growing) eternal souls about the Word of God, the ways of God, and the gospel of Christ.  — It’s easy to bend a little branch but when a tree has been planted and growing for years it’s nearly impossible to bend the massive tree, so let parents remember to mold and shape the hearts of the children while they are young. As a small acorn grows over time into a large tree, so the children that we have grow little by little over the course of time. God has given a marvelous privilege and duty to all parents to teach the souls of the children and bring them up in the gospel of God’s grace.

8. Patiently endure even the hard and discouraging moments as you remember that growth happens slowly, steadily, and progressively (not instantaneously or overnight). — Remember the big picture. Even when family worship is a disaster (and there will be those nights, plenty of them) and even when you don’t get much of the sermon in corporate worship, don’t lose heart or grow discouraged. Pray. Regain your composure and reaffirm your trust in God’s promises. Be patient and remember that your labor for Christ’s glory and for the kids’ souls is never in vain.

9. Focus (and refocus) your heart constantly on the big picture: you love your Christ and then show your children your glorious Christ and beseech them to be reconciled to this merciful, saving, and sufficient Friend of sinners. — Behavioral change is good and desired. But remember to focus on the heart. Realign your own mind and refocus your perspective on a most worthy Savior who deserves worship and a gracious God who saves sinners! If you are captured by your God, you speak with love, with affection, with power, and with passion, and your children will see the genuineness of your ministry. Labor on and labor hard to know and love your Christ and then pass that on to them! You can’t give what you don’t have yourself. So work to remember Christ as your Savior and Lord and then out of joyful delight and out of privileged duty, pass on the gospel truth to your children.

10. Remember to bathe all these endeavors in much prayer, persistent prayer, and confident prayers that God will bless your labors to teach and train your children. — You cannot save your children. Only God can save. Since you cannot save them, pray them into heaven. Bathe them in prayer. Pray with them and for them. Pray incessantly and persistently for their souls. Ask! Seek! Knock! Believe that God will answer your prayers and save your children through your earnest prayers and gospel-pleadings!

11. Seek out another person in the church to sit with you and help you in corporate worship if a need arises to hold a baby or calm down an energetic child. — The body of Christ is a family. After all, families are made up of the older and more mature as well as the new-borns and infants. When young parents have nursing babies or young children, it may be the case that you can request the help of another person in the church to help you, lend you a hand, hold a baby, or assist you in any way. Don’t be afraid to ask and don’t be too prideful to request the help of others. Many are more than eager to serve in this way!

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How to Suffer Well.

How To Suffer Well
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

“Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 3:3). The Lord Jesus alerts His followers that they all will suffer (2 Tim 3:12) for the world hates Christ and so the world will hate Christ’s own (John 15:18-20). So how, then, must we suffer well? What should we as believers mark upon our minds and set upon our souls so that we would triumph and persevere through suffering?

1. Know your lot.
Remember who you are. You belong to Christ: the Prince of Peace who came unto His own but His own did not receive Him (John 1:11). Remember that if your Master has suffered so you too will suffer (John 15:20). Indeed, Christ has set the example for believers to follow in His steps (1 Pet 2:21). What is the lot of believers? What is the God-given, divinely-distributed portion for the people of God? It is to remember that Paul said: we have been destined for afflictions (1 Thess 3:5) and to not be afraid of what believers are about to suffer (Rev 3:10). The lot in the Christian’s life is suffering which produces an eternal weight of glory. If Christ, our Captain, suffered, then we as His soldiers can expect nothing less. If Christ, our Forerunner, has suffered, then let us embrace the same calling.

2. Follow your Master.
Christ Himself endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:2). He followed the Father in all things (Luke 2:49). Jesus relentlessly gave Himself to the Father’s will (John 4:34). The examples of endurance that God provides comes in Hebrews 11 as the author lays forth all those who lived by faith and gained approval through their faith. They all looked to the Lord Himself by faith (Heb 11:6). The Lord Jesus knew what it was to suffer for He Himself died and has come to life (Rev 2:8). He reassures the church in Smyrna that in their suffering, He walks with them and knows all about their tribulation and their poverty (Rev 2:9). Christ calls His people to follow Him through the course of suffering. He Himself suffered and has paved the way for all of His followers to trail behind Him with persevering resilience. Just as Christ did, all believers are called to be faithful till death and Christ Himself will give the crown of life (Rev 2:10). Christ suffered and then He received glory. So it is with every believer. No greater blessing could be given to a child of God than to follow Christ and suffer for Him!

3. Consider life's brevity.
When the waves of life’s sufferings come crashing down on a believer’s head it can be difficult to see the sun through the thunderclouds above. Yet it is there. After the storm comes the rays of sunlight that beam through the blue skies. So it is with every follower of Christ who suffers. The thunderclouds of suffering — however many there may be, and however severe they may be, and however long they may remain — shall one day pass. This life of suffering and pain shall not endure forevermore. Indeed, those who endure and overcome in Christ will not be hurt by the second death (Rev 2:11). The bonds and afflictions of life are afflictions, to be sure, and yet they are pictured as being momentary, light afflictions (2 Cor 4:17). They are momentary. Yet Paul spent nights and days in the deep, with shipwrecks, without food, without clothing, running for his life, in dangers on the sea and on dry land. And still, Paul describes the life of suffering as momentary. Why? Because life is brief. We are here today and gone tomorrow. We are but for a brief moment. When a Christian suffers, let him affix his heart to the future certainty that, when this brief life passes, God will assuredly wipe every tear from his eyes (Rev 7:17). Life is short. Heaven’s glory soon comes!

4. Proclaim Christ courageously.
How did the Apostle Paul conduct himself when he found himself imprisoned for the cause of Christ in a cold cell in Rome (Phil 1:13)? He assured the believers that his imprisonment has served to make the cause of Christ known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else (Phil 1:13). No one could shut Paul up! He proclaims Christ even in the suffering and endured confidently whatever Christ brought His way as a divinely-graced and providentially-bestowed opportunity for gospel proclamation. The gospel spreads through proclamation. It must be spoken. It must be declared. It must be announced. This was, in fact, Paul’s ambition. With all boldness, he said, he wanted Christ as always to be exalted in his body -- whether by life or by death (Phil 1:20). When the Romans did put Paul in jail (in his first Roman imprisonment) he was gave himself to “explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus … from morning until evening” (Acts 28:23). Indeed, Acts concludes by stating that Paul spent two full years in his own quarters preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered (Acts 28:30-31). Let every suffering saint take this to heart. View the times of trouble as gifts from God’s benevolent hand for you to capitalize on the opportunities to proclaim a most satisfying Christ that far surpasses the pleasures, comforts, and hopes of this world.

5. Look to heaven’s glory.
A day will soon dawn when every child of God will see his God in his flesh and shall behold with his own eyes (Job 19:26-27). O how the believer can shout with joy: “my heart faints within me” (Job 19:27)! The outer man decays and let it decay day by day. But the inner man, by God’s grace, is being renewed day by day for the glory of God (2 Cor 4:16). All of this momentary, light affliction is producing for believers an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Cor 4:17). This means that every believer who feels though he is drowning in the dregs of despair or in the iron-cell of abandonment must anchor his heart, his eyes, his mind, and his will to the divinely promised word that an eternal weight of glory is soon-coming. It’s an eternal weight of glory. It’s a glory that cannot be surpassed! It cannot be exchanged! It cannot be trumped. This weight of glory that God gives to His triumphant saints is eternal and unfading. Believers must allow sufferings to wean their hearts off of this world and plant them deeply in the next. Elsewhere Paul affirmed that all the sufferings of this present age are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that is sure to be revealed to us (Rom 8:18). Yes believers groan and long for that full redemption but, until that day, let suffering believers look to heaven’s sure and sweet and satisfying and splendid glory. It is sure to come! Look for it! Hope for it! Anchor your heart there! And when the paws of the trials of this age seize, look to heaven’s glory!


More articles can be found at Pastor Geoff's articles page.

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Biblical Truth on Gender & Marriage Matters. An Audio-Blog Series.

BIBLICAL TRUTH ON GENDER & MARRIAGE MATTERS.

An audio-blog series by Christ Fellowship Bible Church (St Louis).

*May God's people be equipped with the truth & clarity of God's sufficient Word to 'speak the truth in love' to one another and to others who are outside of Christ. Stand courageously & speak confidently!

Part 1 - the introduction to God's truth on such matters of gender, sexuality, identity & marriage. AUDIO: bit.ly/1TDMBcq

Part 2 - the truth about gender. AUDIO: bit.ly/1NPm1Ov

Part 3 - the truth about identity. AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1Ufepnz

Part 4 - the truth about marriage. AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1sfllIj

Part 5 - the truth about homosexuality. AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1NS5mKa

Part 6 - the truth about same-sex attraction [SSA]. AUDIO: http://bit.ly/20Rg7O1

Part 7 - the truth about grace. AUDIO: http://bit.ly/25wvmiH

Part 8 - the truth about salvation. AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1sIwLnQ

More info can be found at www.CFBCSTL.org

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What Does God Bless? An Audio-Blog Series

We endeavored to put together an audio-blog answering some of the following questions:

1. What is the kind of PREACHING God blesses
2. What is the kind of PRAYING God blesses
3. What is the kind of CHURCH God blesses
4. What is the kind of MARRIAGE God blesses
5. What is the kind of MAN God blesses 

The characteristics that are explained are mentioned below with links to the audio-blogs individually.

1. Kind of PREACHING God blesses  |  AUDIO
2 Corinthians 4:13
    Christ-centered preaching
    biblical preaching
    gospel-driven preaching
    passionate (urgent) preaching
    Spirit-empowered preaching

2. Kind of PRAYING God blesses   |  AUDIO
Colossians 4:12
    biblical
    humble
    urgent
    evangelistic
    obedient

3. Kind of CHURCH God blesses  |  AUDIO
1 Thessalonians 1:6-10
    preaching Church
    praying church
    Pure church
    persecuted church -- Christ is with His people.
    proactive church (evangelism/discipleship/one anothers)
    Persevering church (thru suffering/hardship/trouble)

4. Kind of MARRIAGE God blesses  |  AUDIO
Ephesians 5:33
    Loving marriage
    Sacrificing marriage
    Enduring marriage
    Communicating marriage
    sanctifying marriage

5. Kind of MAN God blesses  |  AUDIO
Psalm 1
    man of priority
    man of humility
    man of fidelity (to Christ, to Word, to wife, to children)
    man of piety (holy man)
    man of eternity (lives for eternity while living now)


More at Geoff's website: vassaloftheking.com

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Essentials in the Ministry of the Lord [Lessons from the Pastoral Epistles]

Essentials in the Ministry of the Lord 
[Lessons from the Pastoral Epistles]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church
 
I like to make it a habit to read through the Pastoral Epistles [1,2 Timothy & Titus] regularly and in one sitting so that the Spirit of God exhorts my soul with truths from Holy Scripture regarding the ministry of the Lord. I want to remain on track. I want to major on the essentials. I must prioritize what God tells me to focus on and avoid what He tells me to flee from. Today I want to highlight seven essentials in the ministry of the Lord.

1. pray
The minister of the Lord who serves in the ministry of the Lord must first be a man of prayer. Paul talks about how entreaties and prayers and petitions and thanksgivings should be made by all men. And in the worship context, Paul says that the men should lead in the prayers. The first essential and the most powerful force in ministry is when the minister of the Lord prays to His God for himself, his family, his flock, & the lost.


2. preach
The ministry of the Lord must include faithful, fervent, biblical preaching. The Apostle Paul repeatedly tells both Timothy and Titus to ‘instruct’ and to ‘teach’ and to ‘exhort’ and to ‘preach’. These are not optional. They cannot be negotiated or sidelined. The ministry of the word must be preeminent and paramount. If a man does not rightly handle the Word of God, then he is to be ashamed and will be shamed by God one day. God exhorts His men to preach the Word and to speak and exhort with all authority and to speak things which are fitting for sound doctrine. This includes instructing in faithful doctrine and the reproving of those in error. God’s men must exhort in truth and refute those who contradict. Faithful men preach the Word.

3. protect
The ministry of the Lord includes the shepherding of the sheep of God. God’s men must protect God’s flock. A sheep without a shepherd will soon be hunted and hounded and mauled by predators. Sheep are helpless without protecting and watchful shepherds. So the ministry of the Lord must include the protecting of God’s people from false teachers, from false doctrine, from the love of money, from wandering into useless arguments and speculations, and from sin. As Paul told Timothy, ‘keep yourself free from sin’; so this should be the shepherd’s reminder to God’s people repeatedly. Shepherds must protect by warding off wolves ferociously and by protecting the flock tirelessly. False doctrine abounds. Protect the sheep diligently!
4. develop
The ministry of the Lord demands the developing, training, and shepherding of leaders. Developing leadership in Christ’s church is a paramount essential in every local congregation. Paul sent Titus to set in order what remained and to appoint elders in every city. Paul told Timothy to take what he learned from Paul and to invest in other faithful men. However, ministers of the Lord must not lay hands on a man too quickly lest the unseen sins become exposed and shame the flock and the Lord and His gospel. Paul traveled with many companions; some abandoned him and others remained with him. Nevertheless, God’s work thrives and spreads as qualified, holy, faithful, sober-minded men take the Word and teach it.
 
5. holiness
The ministry of the Lord must be pure. Unholy ministers bring a reproach to Christ and His gospel and His church. Paul tells Timothy to keep himself pure and to guard himself and his life and his doctrine. This holiness in the ministry is at least two-fold: the fleeing from sin and impurities and the following and relentless pursuit after holiness and Christ Himself. Unholiness spreads like a plague and infects the whole lump. Faithful servants in the ministry must reject sin and pursue righteousness, faith, love and purity. Paul told Timothy to be absorbed in God’s things and to pay careful attention to himself and to his doctrine and to persevere in them.
 
6. endure
The ministry of the Lord always brings hardship and so God instructs ministers in His gospel-work to endure. Paul tells Timothy to fight the good fight and to keep the faith. Hardship comes not only from those outside the church who hate Christ and His gospel but also, and perhaps most painfully, from inside the church. Paul knew what it was to have faithful comrades in ministry turn on him and oppose gospel work. He had fellow laborers fall in love with the world and desert him. He had to endure slanders, ridicules, mockings, sufferings, beatings, and persecutions. Of course these will come! But God’s ministers in the work of the Lord must be strong in the grace of Christ and suffer hardship as a soldier of Christ Jesus!

7. rejoice
An essential in the ministry of the Lord includes the remembering and the rejoicing in the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has saved His people and called them with a holy calling, not by men’s works, but according to His sovereign purpose and grace! The one Mediator between God and men is the man Christ Jesus. He gave Himself as a ransom! The God-breathed Scriptures reveal the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. This Christ gave Himself for sinners to redeem them from every lawless deed and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession. Believers then look for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The ministers of the Lord must remember this, rejoice in this, warm their hearts in this, enflame their love for Christ in this and be overcome by Christ’s ravishing love.

More resources are available at Vassal Of the King.

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Practical Tips for Family Worship.

PRACTICAL TIPS FOR FAMILY WORSHIP
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

I love family worship. I readily and humbly admit that I have much learning still to do. But by God’s grace, I heard a sermon while sitting in a dorm room in Pennsylvania for my doctoral studies that the Lord used to expose my sin of neglecting my family in the regular shepherding of their souls in the Word of God. So I’m no professional. But I am a man who has seen, experienced, and savored the happy joys and spiritual benefits of family worship in my own home. In this brief write-up, I hope to provide some practical tips and helpful reminders for family worship.

1) Leadership.
This simply serves as the clarion call for men to lead. God has declared in Ephesians 5 that the husbands are the heads over their wives. God doesn’t ask men to lead. He says you are a leader. So, then, by God’s grace and with God’s Word, and with Christ’s joy, lead your family and shepherd them diligently! The way Christ loves you, and ministers to you, and prays for you, and resides with you, so you should do similarly to your family under your care. Nothing is more important than your leading your family, dear men of God. If you neglect anything, don’t let it be the spiritual leading and faithful nurturing of your family [wife & children] toward Christ, His gospel, and His excellencies.

2) Frequency.
Enjoy family worship frequently. This does not mean a family must gather for hours at a time but rather it supports the notion of meeting together more frequently to build and cultivate this spiritual discipline. Quality is better than quantity. Keep it regular. Keep it frequent. Keep it engaging. Keep it brief. Better to lead your family to the throne of grace for 10 minutes a day every day a week than to do it two times a month for an hour each! Do it regularly!

3) Intentionality.
Intentionally pastor your family. Every man of God, by God’s directive and by His grace, serves his family as the pastor-in-residence. So, intercede for them in fervent and regular prayer. Minister to their souls as you instruct them in the Word and answer questions they may have (age appropriate). Engage their minds and teach on worship as you sing with your family the rich, theological, and awesome hymns that have been penned through the centuries. Switch up the order. Vary it at times with adding a catechism question, read a biography and keep it fresh and exciting. But you, O men, can lead intentionally and engage even the youngest of children and even to your teens by God’s grace.

4) Variety.
I do think a compelling case can be made for families to pray, sing, and read the Word together. But don’t always and ever do the same thing, the same way. That will surely bore your family and teach them that family worship is dull and lifeless. Ask the children -- even the young ones, if possible -- to read the Scripture. Have everyone pray. Pray for the family, for the lost, for missionaries, for the persecuted, for the neighbors, for the church members and shepherds. Thank God, confess sin to God, petition God, confess sin to one another. Sing hymns. Grab a good hymn and make it a hymn of the month (or a hymn of the week). And when you have other guests over for a meal, let them join you for family worship (even if they are unsaved!). Keep it exciting, fresh, Christ-centered and gospel-focused!

5) Instruction.
Family worship never becomes a merit by which we become more acceptable to God, or keep ourselves saved, or by which we can look down on others who may not engage in family worship. Rather, family worship is a God-appointed way for fathers to instruct their children in the ways of God, the Word of God, and the wisdom of God. God’s Word must be passed on to the next generation. O the tragedy of children that rise up without parents that say: “come, you children, listen to me and I will teach you the fear of the LORD” (Ps 34:11). This requires, then, that fathers need to be students of the Word so that we can shepherd well and instruct accurately in the truths of Scripture. So it may require a bit more time to study (especially if the children or your wife asks a question that you don’t know the answer to) and a bit more time of desperate prayer. But how glorious for God to conform you to Christ as you lead humbly and lead obediently and lead joyfully in this way! Instruct the souls in their sin, in God’s holiness, and in Christ’s sufficient atonement. Instruct them of the need to repent of their sin and to trust in Christ alone!

6) Patience.
And one more very important element. Fathers, be patient. Children are like trees. An acorn does not grow into a mighty oak tree overnight. That occurs over many years. Don’t expect children to become spiritual giants by tomorrow. Remember the long-term focus. We earnestly desire to obey Christ and to shepherd the family well in the Word. But don’t become so near-sighted that you grow discouraged when you don’t see fruit right away. Indeed, even when family worship appears to be a disaster (yes, I’ve had many of those nights) for sin reasons, rowdy children, crying babies, illness, interruptions, etc., keep enduring. Don’t grow weary and give up! Don’t throw in the towel. Like the physical growth of your children, spiritual growth does happen: slowly, over time, and often it’s not even that noticeable to the eye. So be patient, be persistent, be prayerful, be a model, and pastor them toward Christ!

More articles on the topic of "family worship" can be found at Vassal of the King.

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Young Men — Is This You?

Young Men — Is This You?
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

“Need” is a strong word. But I use it intentionally and I use it passionately. Yes, I use it urgently. Our culture desperately needs men. Not boys! We have plenty of boys. The church needs men, real men, godly men, holy men, biblical men. As a minister of the gospel, as a student of Scripture, as a biblical counselor, and as a man after God’s own heart, I will list 8 traits that should characterize men. So — young men: is this you?

Young men -- you need…

1) Truth — Jesus described Himself as being “the Truth.” God is the God of truth and truthfulness. You are made by Him and designed to emulate Him. Speak truth in your heart and have no fear of what you’ll say. Fill your mind and heart with truthful things and flee from deceptive, hidden, devious, manipulative ways. Young men, at all costs, be men of truth!

2) Integrity — The biblical concept of integrity speaks of wholeness, blamelessness. That is, to live a life of integrity demands a person who refuses double-mindedness and double-living. What you say you’ll do, do it at all costs. Be faithful, true to your word, and honest in all things.

3) Gentleness — The boldest and manliest person to ever walk this world was God in human flesh. And this Lord Jesus Christ was full of gentleness. Be strong! Be courageous! Be self-controlled and be sober-minded. Control your heart, mind, words, and actions. Be gentle!

4) Convictions — Be willing to die for things! These are your convictions. Men hold opinions but convictions hold the man. Believe God, His Word, the gospel and in the eternality of the soul, and live and die for Him. Shape your convictions by Scripture and stand up for them.

5) Perseverance — When life thrashes you against the rocks remember one thing: when suffering comes it comes because God wants you there. God grows His people as they endure hardships. Don’t despise the clouds that God brings. The Sun of Righteousness grows you in it.

6) Punctuality — Young men have this tragic reputation of being late (and lazy). And shamefully, it’s often true. Manhood demands responsibility. Rise early. Prepare your body and heart. Warm your soul with Christ each day. Leave early. Arrive early. Pray, prepare, be punctual. To arrive 5 minutes early is to arrive on time. Remember that.

7) Submission — Never be to prideful to submit. Godly men submit. Christ Himself — God come in the flesh — submitted Himself constantly and perfectly to the will of His Father. Submit to your parents. Submit to your authorities. Submit to the police. Submit to your church shepherd-elders. Find joy in obeying Christ in worshipful submission.

8) Discipline — Own your body. Don’t be mastered by it. You need to discipline yourself. No one wins a gold metal by coasting. No one wins the race with laziness. Discipline your soul, your mind, your body. Engage daily with Christ. Pray humbly before Him. Speak much of Him. Ponder His beauties. Discipline yourself, O man.

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College Students: What Do You Plan to Do This Summer?

College students: what do you plan to do this summer?
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

For you as Christian students, the summer brings many opportunities to rest, serve the Lord, and prepare for what’s to come. For many, endless opportunities exist for you to engage in trivial, worldly, unimportant, and time-consuming activities that do not progress your journey toward heaven. As a pastor, I have a heart for young men and women to maximize their time for the glory of Christ and for the good of their souls. Time passes too quickly to waste even a moment. So in this brief write-up, I as a shepherd-pastor with a great love and concern for college students encourage you to serve Christ and live for eternity during these summer months.

I will provide you with 6 helpful and practical tips.

1. Read.
I know. You’ve read too much already this school year. But let me encourage you to continue to ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (2 Pet 3.18) and you do this by plunging yourself deeply and satisfyingly in the living Word of God. Read Scripture -- a lot of Scripture. Make a goal to read books in their entirety in one sitting (such as Romans, Ephesians, Hebrews, Revelation, etc.) to get the big picture. Get a few good books and encourage your heart in biographies such as The Evangelistic Zeal of George Whitefield by Steven Lawson. You’ll want to bless your soul by reading a work by some Puritans such as The Doctrine of Repentance by Thomas Watson or The Godly Man’s Picture by Thomas Watson. Read a chapter a day. Ponder. Meditate. Chew on it. Read. Read well. And let God’s Word soak in your soul as He conforms you to Christ.

2. Meditate.
You say, meditate? Yes! But you must understand it properly. This does not mean some sort-of eastern philosophy of emptying your mind. The biblical concept of meditation includes the filling of your mind with biblical truth, chewing on that topic, pondering it, speaking it over and over to yourself, and then living accordingly as it has permeated your entire being. Pick a topic, say, each week and study it, read on it, ask your pastor for helps/resources on it, and take an hour walk a few times a week and ponder a particular topic (such as regeneration, repentance, heaven, hell, holiness, loving one another). Pray on it from different angles. Apply it to your life specifically. Find a text and a truth and meditate on it repeatedly till God has worked it deep into your soul.

3. Serve.
It’s easy to attend church casually. It’s easy to sleep in, show up late, leave right when the closing prayer is through, and not talk to anyone. Resist this temptation! Serve Christ and serve Christ’s people! Young people: the church needs you and you have tons of blessings, energies, and assets to contribute to your local church. So serve! Consider taking other singles out for coffee and getting to know them. Yes, find a widow, and a single parent, and perhaps other students and take them out and have intentional questions prepared (e.g., what has God been showing you from Scripture lately? What have you learned about God and His faithfulness in your life? What trials has God seen you through?). Even offer to take your pastor or some of the elders out for a meal on Sunday (you don’t have to pay, don’t worry) and get to know them. Thank them for serving. Ask specifically how you can help during the summer months. Find a need at the church and jump in. Offer to serve. Be proactive, intentional, deliberate, sacrificial. Young people, fight the easy narcissistic mentality of our culture to just take and receive and get everything that satisfies “ME”. Refuse this and fight it with vehemence. Serve! Give! Sacrifice! And do it for Christ and for others at church!

4. Initiate.
People attend church for a while and then leave quibbling that no one ‘loved them’ or ‘reached out to them.’ Young people, please don’t do this. You initiate a conversation with that young lady or that elderly man sitting all alone before or after church. That young person who seems disinterested or unengaged or texting on his cell phone, you initiate a conversation with him and ask him how you can pray for him or her. That brand new couple that has come to visit the church and appears to be lost, you approach them and offer to help them, serve them, hold a child’s hand while  you walk with them, and even offer them to sit with you in church. Show them the restrooms, nursery, etc. But, of course, you need to show up early to church to do this. The point of this? Initiate. Pursue people. Christ invested in people. Let us do the same. He initiated men to disciple. Let us do the same. So, young man or young woman, at home for college, don’t lazily sleep the day away or play video games till you drop, find someone (young or old) and you initiate a Bible-reading, discipling relationship with them during the summer. Pray for each other. Indeed, you might even wish to make it a goal to approach one person each week and ask how you can pray for them. Be specific. Pray much for them. Intercede for them. Follow up. And this will encourage both them and you! Initiate!

5. Pray.
It’s hard. Quietness is hard. We feel weird at just being still. Nothing in our world trains us to sit still, wait, and be quiet. Except God. God demands that His people cry out to Him and pour out their souls to Him! He longs to meet with you and to commune with you. So young people: prayer is hard but it’s always and ever worth it. Remember: prayer moves the Hand that moves the world! Engage with God in regular, fervent, biblically-driven, and undying prayers. Don’t lose heart. If it’s hard for you to pray. Start today with praying 5 minutes uninterrupted. Then make it 10 minutes in a few days. Then after that make it 20. Soon you’ll be praying 30 minutes. Maybe in a month you make it a goal to pray for 1 hour straight without interruption (yes, no texts, no checking social media). Down to your knees! What to pray for? Start by praying through a psalm a day so you affix your heart to God’s character and glory at the outset (Ps 1, 2, 3, 19, 23, 33, 34, 67, 89, 93, 99, 100, 103, 145, 147-150). Then confess your sin. Surely your reading of Scripture will uncover sin in your heart, mind, words, and life. So repent of it (1 John 1.9). Pray for your church specifically. Pray for leaders, by name. Pray for families (and children!). Pray for missionaries (don’t know where to start? Start with TMAI’s missionaries and pastoral training centers around the world & pray for each one [TMAI.org] or HeartCry Missionary Society [heartcrymissionary.com/mission-updates]). Pray for your friends that are without Christ. Pray for revival. Pray for God’s grace in the preaching and His power in evangelism. Pray for a friend to repent —every day—and see how God provides you with opportunities to speak of His gospel and grace to that person.

6. Encourage.
We all need it. You need it. The Word of God tells believers to encourage one another with these words (1 Thess 5.11). And the words that Paul speaks of is the reality that Christ will surely soon-come to take His people home to glory. So, young people, be creative and thoughtful about some ways you can encourage believers that God has put into your life. Start with your pastor. Then move to every shepherd-elder and deacon in your local church. Of course, don’t neglect your own family at home -- father, mother, siblings. Even your close friends need comforts also. Write letters. Make phone calls. Can I even say: drop by for a brief visit (of course, men with men, women with women only to be above reproach and not put yourself in a tempting situation or, perhaps, one that does not appear to be above-reproach). Text a verse to a friend regularly. Call that person you’re discipling and let them know you’re praying for them today specifically. Pray for families in need and call them to encourage them. Minister the gospel to the bruised, broken, and downcast. Walk with the suffering through their valleys. Christ will encourage your soul as you strive to encourage others. Hard? Yes! Worth it? Definitely! Get to work. Plan now! Diligently serve your Christ.

More of Geoff's articles can be found at Vassal of the King.

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Why Be Urgent with the Gospel?

Why Be Urgent with the Gospel?
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Job declared that my life is but breath (Job 7.7). David affirmed that God has made our days as handbreadths (Ps 39.5). James reminded us that we are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away (James 4.14). Our lives are brief. We are here but for a few years and then we step into everlasting eternity without end. One might ask: why must we be so urgent with the gospel?

We must be urgent with the gospel for the following 5 reasons: because of…

1. the nearness of death.
Men fail to realize how final and certain death is. This life is not the end. Death is not the end. Five seconds after death is not the end. When God takes a person’s life and he steps into the everlasting abode of eternity he will then realize just how brief of a time he was on earth. But it will be too late then. Life is short. Heart attacks happen. Strokes can seize people and usher them immediately into eternity. Accidents occur. Mistakes happen. God’s sovereign providence is mysterious and unknown to us. Because death is so near, so inevitable, so final, and so irresistible, we must be urgent with the gospel before it is too late and the door of mercy shuts.

2. the finality of judgment.
God has fixed a day whereby He will call every man before His judgment bar to stand before Him. On this occasion, God will look into His perfect books and repay every man according to what he has done. This judgment is final and fixed. It is unchanging and fair. It is unbending and eternal. This judgment that God will render upon every sinner is inflexibly fair and divinely good. God will finally judge and fairly condemn all sinners who have sinned against God’s perfect holiness into an eternity under the crushing and constant and conquering fury of His righteous wrath. Because of the finality of this certain judgment to come, we must be urgent with the gospel so that sinners would see the weight of their sin, the guilt of their iniquity, the punishment that is due them, and, in faith, fly to the One who bore the divine curse for His people at Calvary.

3. the compassion for people.
True Christians have burdens for souls. God instructs us to love Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The height of all pride is to receive salvation and refuse to proclaim that saving message to others seeking to persuade them to believe the truth. Someone who lives unconcerned about the lost, unwilling to evangelize, and unengaged in speaking of his Savior has every reason to doubt his true conversion. Because we know the greatness of God, the sweetness of salvation, and the delightfulness of Christ, we love others and long for their eternal welfare. So, out of our love for others and from a compassion for their eternal joy, we must be urgent with the gospel. Someone who is unwilling to speak of his Christ and of Christ’s gospel to someone is not really a true friend, nor is he someone who loves. True love proclaims the ultimate lover of souls and the giver of salvation. Thus, we speak urgently and with love.

4. the imitation of Christ.
No one ever walked the soil of this earth with a greater and more perfect love for people than the Lord Jesus Christ. As God, He loved perfectly. As God, He loved supremely. As God, He loved tirelessly. And, because He loved so much, He warned of coming judgment and urged His hearers to decide to follow Him immediately. The Lord Jesus constantly performed miracles to show that He was who He claimed to be: God come in the flesh. And His discourses center on His wisdom, His salvation, following Him, forsaking the false religious system of works-righteousness and trusting in Him and counting the cost in surrendering to Him. Jesus approached people and evangelized them immediately and lovingly. He spoke the truth in love. Because He loved souls, He urged them to repent and believe. This was His mission and why He came. Jesus did not just come to hang out with people and ‘love them’ in some emotional, hang-out sort of way. Rather, he loved them by exposing their sin, warning of judgment, and inviting them to come to Him for eternal life. Because our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, was urgent with the gospel in pressing it home upon people’s souls, we must learn to do the same. After all, the most loving thing we could ever do (as we love as He loved) is to call sinners to flee from the wrath to come by freely and humbly embracing Jesus Christ by faith alone who bore God’s curse in their stead.

5. the delightfulness of Christ.
No object captivates the heart more than the Lord Jesus Christ. His promises are the rays that come from Him, the Sun of righteousness. He is full of love, overflowing with grace, abundant with promises, delightful in His presence, and comforting as He is near to us. None is so worthy of worship as Christ. No person is sweeter. No love is fuller than the love that He showers upon His chosen Bride. His delightfulnesses rapture the heart, captivate the mind, woo the heart, and enlarge our affections. True believers know the beauty of Christ and the blessednesses of His eternal and infinite Person! Therefore, true Christians want unbelievers to know this Christ and to experience the fullness of divine joy in their hearts. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ understand that sinners without Christ attempt to fill their lusts with the cravings of this world and always are left empty and guilty. But Christ, Christ is delightfully sweet and immediately available! He is the Savior of love, the God of grace, the minister of comfort, the friend ever-near, and the greatest of all sweetnesses. Because of this truth, we are to be urgent with the gospel because, preeminently, Christ deserves this worship and adoration and, secondarily, we want sinners to know the satisfactions that come from a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are urgent and we press home the gospel frequently, fearlessly and faithfully upon sinners’ souls.

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The Greatest Is a Servant!

The Greatest Is a Servant (Matthew 23:11)
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

In these words our Lord speaks concerning leadership. In this context He scathingly denounces the arrogant hypocrisy of the religious leaders of the day and He calls His own to be those who serve one another. Since, as Jesus said, the greatest is a servant, we must understand what spheres of life and ministry this can occur. In this brief essay, I want to speak of 10 spheres in which serving God can happen for the glory of God and for the joy of His people.

1. Praying.
Believers must remember that one great way that they can care for one another comes through interceding on behalf of other believers. Strength of soul comes in praying for others. God hears and answers specific prayers!

2. Studying.
One way to serve God also occurs when children of God quiet themselves with the Word with the specific intent of knowing God, loving Christ, understanding the gospel’s grandeur, and how it applies to life. Diligently study the Word!

3. Preaching.
God has ordained that men take His Word and herald it powerfully when it’s wanted and when it’s not wanted. To speak God’s truth with clarity, conviction, & power is a great privilege. Serve Christ supremely by preaching Him!

4. Counseling.
All Christians have the Spirit of God residing within them and have the Word of God and thus have God’s wisdom and truth in the Scriptures. Believers can (and must!) serve one another by shepherding and counseling one another toward Christ. Using the Word to speak into others’ lives & comforting them with God’s promises is a way to serve.

5. Discipling.
Our Lord commanded His followers to go and make disciples of all nations. This grand mission of discipleship involves evangelism and training them in all that Christ taught. Believers have the Word and must meet with other believers in studying the Apostolic doctrine as it is found in the Word of God so as to grow together in God’s grace.

6. Equipping.
Nothing is more needed in the church today than the equipping of God’s people to know the one, true God and to know Christ and His magnificent character and gospel. Serving Christ includes equipping one another for ministry.

7. Reminding.
The Apostle Peter reminded the believers of what they already knew repeatedly. Christians can greatly serve one another by reminding each other of divine promises, God’s comforts, Christ’s gospel, the Spirit’s sanctifying power.

8. Giving.
Christ served His Bride when He gave Himself up for her and died for her. To serve is to sacrificially give. Giving to others is one way of serving them. Give to them financially, or of your time, or resources, or knowledge, or wisdom.

9. Worshiping.
Worship is a way of life for a child of God. Worship prepares a reborn child for heaven. A preeminent way of serving the Lord is to respond to all that God is with a life of praise, adoration, and thanksgiving. Worship God heartfully.

10. Caring.
Bearing each others' burdens serves the people of God tremendously. Care for one another by shepherding each others' souls toward Christ. Speak truth into each others' lives and reprove, rebuke, comfort, encourage, & instruct.

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Preaching with Fire!

Preaching With Fire
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Preaching denotes that God-ordained means of pressing divine truth upon the hearts of people by which a man of God heralds forth the Master’s message with faithful clarity, with biblical fidelity, with theological precision, and with earnest application. Preaching instructs the mind, directs the will, and woos the heart. Biblical preaching presents the depravity of man, the inability of self-deliverance, the sufficiency of Christ, the propitiation of the Lamb, and the necessity to repent and believe. Preaching is not dialoguing. Preaching heralds. Preaching thunders. Preaching declares. Preaching commands. Preaching summons. Preaching presents divine truth to human hearts with fiery urgency through a man white-hot with love for Christ.

1. Urgency.
Everyone will die. The crackling flames of hell must be heard by every faithful minister so that he understands the weightiness and importance of every opportunity to herald. He must preach and urge. He must declare and summon. He does this with derived authority from the sovereign One who sent him. The preacher is an ambassador who must be heard! He preaches and declares that all must hear and heed the Master’s mandate. Preach urgently!

2. Eternity.
Only one thing separates all people from unending eternities that will inevitably come, namely, one breath. When God takes a person’s life, they step immediately into a real, unchangeable, conscious eternity. Let all ministers of the gospel herald with eternity plastered upon his heart and with eternal destinies stamped on his eyeballs. God has given one message by which sinful souls may be eternally welcomed into heaven: the preaching of the righteousness of Christ! Preach Him! Preach that all must repent and believe! Preach that what sinners do now with Christ has eternal ramifications. Preach for eternity!

3. Glory.
Heaven is heaven because God is there. God is all-glorious and all-magnificent. What makes heaven heaven is that God in His everlasting infiniteness dwells there in the presence of His people forevermore. Ministers who faithfully know their text, who know God, who love Christ, who are full of the Spirit, who have prayed for Spirit-endowed unction preach to save souls. They have an indomitable burden: that sinners would be delivered out of the kingdom of darkness and gathered into the kingdom of Light. Preach Christ so the Spirit may give life and seal souls for glory.

4. Hell.
Preachers herald with fire so that the hearers don’t end up in eternal fire. Ministers who know the gospel and know the God of the gospel preach with such utmost urgency that every sermon counts, indeed, every moment counts. No one preaches better than the man with eternity on his heart. He longs to snatch souls from hell. He wants Christ to save His own through the faithfully preached Word. He wants the Spirit to regenerate those who hear the gospel of grace. So yes, preachers preach hell. Yes, preachers speak often on hell. Because love compels preachers to warn sinners to flee from the wrath to come and to find a safe refuge in the Christ who bore divine wrath in their stead.

5. Unction.
Fiery preaching demands and is desperate for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. No preaching accomplishes divine purposes unless it flies with the wind of the Spirit. Powerless preaching does not change souls nor does it change lives. Preachers who understand God and know His almighty power pray in secret before they preach in public that God would anoint them with the Spirit of power and that they would preach God’s Word, with God’s power, to God’s people, to produce God’s results. This happens as the man of God earnestly prays for unction and desperately cries to the One who gives the Spirit without measure! O God, let the ministers of Christ preach with unction!

6. Compassion.
Bold preaching carries with it a genuine love for sinners. Nothing is more unloving than to not preach Christ and His gospel faithfully. But those who warn the wayward and comfort the broken with the gospel of Christ are truly ministers who love. True love speaks the divine message faithfully. Preaching with fire always includes a genuine compassion for every hearer. As ministers of the gospel stand before the congregation, he knows that unbelievers may sit before him, precious young ones who must repent and trust in Christ also sit in front of him. Indeed, he also believes that genuine believers who know and love Christ sit with their open bibles feeding upon the spoken Word of God. Yet he also knows that there are many professing believers who sit under the preached Word who may think they’re saved when in fact they travel on the broad path that leads to destruction. Ministers preach with broken hearts for broken souls because the minister himself remembers that his God had immense compassion on him!

7. Heralding.
Preachers preach. To preach means that one heralds. To herald demands that one stand with a message from another and the herald, or the messenger, imparts that message faithfully without alteration the full message with the derived authority that comes from the sender himself. As an Emperor of old would send his ambassador, or messenger, to herald the King’s message in the city-square so that all would hear the King’s report and take appropriate action, the herald could not change the message, alter the message, eliminate hard parts of the message, or even be responsible for the response to the message. His job was to come with the sender’s authority, with the sender’s message, to stand and proclaim the full and unchanged message from the King himself. So it is with every preacher of the gospel. He must exhort! He must plead! He must deliver God’s message, in full, with power, with God’s authority, from the Word, to all the hearers. He pleads! He cries! He exhorts! He proclaims! He announces! He demands! This is preaching with fire. And all heralds of the gospel are those who study the Word to get the Master’s message, from the Master’s Word, and then they stand with the Master’s authority, before the Master’s people, empowered by the Master’s enablement, to preach the gospel of the Master’s free grace in Christ, and they preach faithfully, fully, and fearlessly and trust that the great Master will use His spoken Word to save the lost and grow the saved. 

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The Kind of Men God Uses.

The Kind of Men God Uses
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Every man longs for God to use him. But what kind of men does God use? What kind of man most manifests the power of God? How should men live in this world to make the most impact for the next? How must a minister live? How must a husband serve? How must a Christian occupy himself? To be used by God in a mighty way, let the reader understand that God uses particular kinds of men.

1 Corinthians 2:3 — “I was with you in weakness…”

1. Weak men
The Apostle Paul boasted in few things but one such characteristic that he often boasted in was his weakness. He was a weak man in the eyes of the world. Indeed, the way of the Lord so often flips human things upside-down. God does not use the strongest of men to accomplish the greatest of tasks. He uses weak men, frail in the eyes of the world, empowered by God to do great things for His glory.

2. Broken men
Godly men sorrow over sin. Men of God who accomplish much in the kingdom of God repent over sin and mourn over their own specific sins. God does not use men who will not and refuse to repent over their transgressions. But the broken, the penitent, the contrite, the lowly, and the repentant men are those who, by God’s grace and by His power, shake the world for Christ.

3. Godly men
The men who have done the most in the world are those who were devoted most to God. The men whom God uses most are the most pious of men. They happily content themselves to remain unknown in the eyes of men. They seek not the applause and acceptance of men. They fear God and Him alone. The men used of God seek God and love Christ. They joyfully commune with the Triune God in incessant fellowship and in unbroken prayer. Godly men do much for Christ.

4. Pure men
Holy men must live wholly devoted to the Master for His service. Unholy men profane Christ’s kingdom. An impure minister is a disgrace to the gospel of grace. God saves wretched sinners and then He begins the process of purification, of transformation, of sanctification. All those whom God saves, He sanctifies. All those whom God converts, He changes and conforms them to the character of Christ. Men of God who wage war with the kingdom of darkness are those who prioritize personal piety and radically resolve to live righteously. Godly men are pure and holy.

5. Desperate men
A godly man lives with a holy discontentment. He has a sanctified desperation in that He longs ever-increasingly for greater holiness and for greater power. He can’t get enough of God’s power upon Him in his proclamation, in his praying, and in his communion with Christ. He desperately longs for God to use him more. He longs for revival. He pleads for holiness. In his soul, deep in his inner man, he desperately wants to be as holy as a justified man can possibly be.

6. Courageous men
Men of God courageously stand against the Devil himself. Men of God fear no one except God. Soldiers of Christ stand firm against the fiery darts and luring schemes of the Tempter. Courage comes from God who is the Fountain of strength and delights. He is the mighty Rock and strong Refuge. Men of God live courageously because true love casts out all fear. A man that God uses stands unafraid to proclaim Christ’s gospel to the most repulsive of sinners. A man of God stands before the armies of Satan unflinchingly because the arm of the Lord is always with Him.

7. Gentle men
True men are gentle. Godly gentleness refers to that character quality of strength -- strong strength -- under control. It is a mighty man who serves a mighty God with a mighty Gospel in a mightily dark world who walks and talks and lives with self-control over his spirit.  Christ Himself exemplified a perfect man who was meek, gentle, strong, humble, and unflinchingly bold. God uses men who are controlled in their strength as Christ Himself lived in a controlled way even in the severest and most unjust of circumstances. Men that God uses do likewise.

8. Heavenly men
Christ lived for one predominant purpose which overshadowed everything that He did. He lived singularly and solely for the glory of the Father. He passionately wanted to glorify His heavenly Father. He longed to be with the Father and be with His redeemed. Men whom God uses have an eyeball gazing upon the Lamb of God seated on heaven’s throne. True men are so consumed with the next world that they do the most in this world. They live for eternity. They preach for eternity. They shepherd souls toward eternity. They plead with sinners to consider eternity. They know that a mere breath separates them from stepping into eternity. Men empowered by God and who accomplish much for His glory long for heaven, are assured of coming heaven, earnestly long to be with Christ in heaven and they live storing up treasures for heaven. They are in the truest sense other-worldly men.

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