SAVED FROM GOD

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonid=121609115463

BOOK REVIEW - A Praying Life by Paul Miller

I have just finished Paul Millers' new book, "A Praying Life". I am still thinking about all of the areas of my life that He has touched. For me, his chapter on cynicism was worth the price of the book. I began my own study on cynicism and taking a hard close look at my life and my faith. Actually, I could say that for almost every chapter. This book is life-changing.
Rarely have I had a book affect me in so many areas, yet it continually brought me back to the point of the book. Life is prayer. Personal, powerful, life-changing prayer. Paul's theology on prayer is sound and he teaches us how to actually live a life of prayer. Real prayer.
I have always been interested in prayer, (of course, I am a believer, who isn't?) and have read alot of books on the subject, but I have never read as impacting a book as this one. From cover to cover, this book hits home. I cannot recommend it highly enough. If I could, I would buy you one. But I can't. You buy it, and it will be seen as one of the best investments you have ever made.

Playing It Safe

It seems like so many in the church are playing it safe. We had our brother Trevor Johnson, missionary to Papua New Guinea last week and he testified to what God is doing amongst the Korawi tribe. Here is a man who gave himself and his family to be plucked up and planted. He has had malaria five times, their children often have to be de-wormed, several of the children of their co-laborers have been buried in the jungle. He has endured significant danger for the cause of Christ. Our brother, Brig, and his wife have been plucked up and planted in Israel. He is attempting to learn to speak in Hebrew. He has endured the loss of everything material. Our friend Walid endure danger and the potential loss of his freedom, or life, as he ministers to muslims.
I look at our congregation, and others I love, and we play if so safe. We are averse to risk. We huddle around in our homes, once a week making our way to church, determining that we will give only as much as allows us to remain comfortable. We shield our children and keep mostly to ourselves. We would never consider taking anything close to the amount of risk these brothers have taken. Why?
We protect ourselves from hurt, distancing ourselves from those brothers who say things that call us to give more of ourselves to The Cause. We isolate ourselves from those who differ from us in the things which are least central to the cause of Christ. We separate ourselves from those who cause us any discomfort or who may dare to challenge our way of thinking. We judge others who may not be as legalistic in their thinking and are free to serve, love and befriend people who simply wouldn't fit in with "our crowd". Some of us I feel would fit in more in a monastery and others would fit in more in some other type of cloistered community.
We are so uncomfortable with risk that we end up odd looking specimens of 20th century Christianity to the rest of the laborers around the world. We look silly. Christian, you look silly in your comfort.
Where is the risk in our lives that shows our faith? What are we risking? What? Why?

Husbands, Love Your Wives - BE THEIR SAVIOR!

Talking to all of the young people lately about marriage has brought to mind the fact that so many husbands fail to simply understand that they are called to lay down their lives for their wives. If we are to be examples of the relationship between Christ and his church, we must first of all give ourselves sacrificially for our wives. So many men want to be the head of their wives, but not their savior.
I say savior in the sense of being as Christ is to the church. That is what Paul means when he says "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her". Men, what are you giving up for your wife? You are supposed to be giving up your life! Your wife comes before everyone! You have no right to demand that your wife submit herself to you unless you are being her savior and giving yourself up for her. She is to come before your children, before your job, before your hobby for goodness sake and before your friends.
You are to be a Christ to her. You are to be loving her as Christ loved the church. Many of you aren't. You want to be the center of everything, including the life of your wife, but your life is so self-centered that the picture you are supposed to be is warped.
Christ is selfless. He laid down His life for the sheep. The primary example that every married Christian man should be is one of dying daily for his wife.
Men, die to yourself. And be a man. Stop worshiping the god of pleasure and die! Living sacrificially is not simply working a job. Your wife is the result of what you have made her. When you first took her hand at the altar, you committed to cherish her even as Christ cherishes the church. Men, what have you done to your wives? Why are they not rejoicing? Is it because you are still so very much alive to yourself? If so, it is no wonder that your wife finds it hard to respect your walk.

Sarcasm Will Poison Your Church

Proverbs 26:18,19 - Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I am only joking!"
While studying for my bible Class, I was struck with this verse and what it means. The word "deceives", can also mean, "to cast or throw." I take that to mean things like sarcasm.
Proverbs 15:4 tells us that "A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit".
Sarcasm has been a major part of my method of communication, especially among my closest brothers, but I have seen how it actually hinders intimacy in fellowship. Sarcasm can actually be a protection device to keep people at a healthy distance so that we are not vulnerable.
In our church, we are trying to lead our people into a healthier and more intimate and real church fellowship. One of the things that has hindered this is sarcasm being used as a form of communication.
Friends, it is deadly. Sarcasm masquerades as friendship, but only plants seeds of resentment and bitterness that Satan can use to ultimately cause a divide in the fellowship when trials come. We simply cannot afford this type of worldly communication. We are to be a sober-minded people.
Now, someone will always stand up and defend the use of sarcasm because humor has a place in the kingdom of God. Let me remind you, that if the humor is about a circumstance, and is not directed toward another, it can be a healthy form of communication. But if it is at the expense of a brother, it can only poison further effective and serious communion between us.
I have witnessed the shallowness and the distance in relationship caused by a lack of trust and the resistance to opening our lives up to one another. One reason is that we feel that our trust may be betrayed, and brought to bear as an arrow or a firebrand.
The spirit of competition that results as we engage habitually in sarcasm will build a barrier in our fellowship that will eventually close off all serious and pious communion amongst the saints that is so desperately needed in the midst of our battles for righteousness and our faith amidst trial.
Paul exhorts us in Colossians 4:6 to "let our speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt". Iron sharpens iron in serious conversation and debate, but sarcasm only cuts. And when one is cut enough, and wounded, he will either strike back, or desert the battle. Either way, you lose.
Leaders, stop it now. Be an example of holiness and sober-mindedness. Don't choose to be a "good ol boy" and fall in with the vain conversation that takes place in so many fellowships. If you take this stand, it will pay rich dividends in your church.
If you do not, you may continue to experience mere "surface" relationship where there is an apparent lack of trust and a suspicion which hinders true intimacy.

The Greatest Need of the Church Today - Brokenness

I suppose that this may seem like utter self-promotion. Actually, I hate to hear myself preach. I can't blame others. but this message was sent to me from the Lord. I was notified the previous day that I would need to preach this past Sunday, and didn't have a lot of time to prepare, so this is actually not a very good sermon. But it was something I believe the Lord sent to me for the church. I hope that it blesses you.




http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=82609121064

First Demons, Then Salvation Came To Their House

Last Thursday evening, Bro Scott and I had the privilege to go to a home we were invited to through a waitress Scott had befriended. Her family had been harassed by what seemed to them to be departed family members and ghosts. She and the children saw several different people in her room and night, her bed shook violently on several occasions, etc. The night before we came, "someone" had tapped her on the shoulder. Many different manifestations had caused them to be a family filled with fear.
After arriving at the home and questioning all involved, Bro Scott and I went upstairs where the manifestations had taken place, read scripture, prayed, and basically commanded any demonic entities to simply leave, in Jesus name. What else could we do? We were there representing the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, we went back downstairs where family, neighbors and relatives had gathered and had a wonderful time preaching the gospel to them all. It has been a long time since I had seen such rapt attention given to the gospel by lost young people. After clearly expounding the gospel, we went back with the family upstairs, prayed with them and rejoiced in the goodness of God. They testified that the room was no longer cold and the mother was no longer afraid. One of the daughters testified that she had been saved right then. The other daughter also said that she believes. Others seemed to be in a condition where God was working in their hearts. Well, the immediate family is supposed to come to church on Sunday, and then we are supposed to go back each week to study the Bible and pray with them. We left them and they were full of hope.
This was all arranged by the Lord. Pray for us, that many would be saved as a result of what God is doing there.

Baptist Cooperation Article

Well, I had to edit it down to approx 1,000 words to get it published, so it is choppy and some of the points are very weakened, but hopefully this will help. At least I hope it helps with the current dialogues going on in Missouri.

http://www.mbcpathway.com/opinion/article201328c2506401.htm

My Son's First Sermon

Well, as we sat last Sunday listening to our oldest son Bobby preach his first sermon in his church, we rejoiced at the goodness of God. Three years ago when he was still unconverted, we would never have imagined what God would do. It was entitled "Jesus Our Everything", and you must know how joyful Faith and I are to know that Bobby is living it and preaching it.
Hope you enjoy it also.

http://karischurch.org/media.aspx

Drink Ye All of It - A Betrothal!

The lover of our souls said in Hosea 2:19 "I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord." In the 16th verse He says, "you will call me my husband and will call me no more my master."
When he asked the disciples around the table to take of the bread and the wine, he was sealing a covenant with them.
In Judaism, the bridegroom asks for the hand of the bride by pouring a cup of wine for his bride to be and then he waits for her to respond by drinking from the cup. She is saying "yes" and this symbolizes the sealing of their marriage covenant. They were now engaged. They belonged to one another for the rest of their lives. They had sealed a covenant. Then a price was offered for the bride.
Jesus was about to go to the cross to pay the price of the bride. His death and the shedding of His holy blood.
He has sealed our marriage covenant with His blood. We are His. He purchased us. "Drink ye all of it."
Treasure this remembrance each time you do it. We are awaiting His return. He has not drank of the fruit of the vine since that day in the upper room. But one day, He will. With us. Together. Around His table. As we are forever wed to our Beloved.
Say "yes" to Him. Again, and again, and again! You are sealed. Enjoy it!

DO NOT LOSE HEART!

Don't lose heart preacher! God is our refuge and strength. He is a very present help in trouble. Don't fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
There is a river! The Lord of Hosts is with us!
Though our outer man is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
You must see the hand of God in all of this. If you only see the hand of man opposing you, you will get discouraged. Our God is in control and is molding and shaping you for His own good purposes. When you come forth, you will come forth as gold.

BIBLICAL REFLECTIONS ON INSTRUMENTS AND WORSHIP

The believer is no longer under laws and rules. We are no longer prescribed an order of worship. That is why the New Testament is surprisingly silent on the subject of worship In fact when the church gathers it is never called worship in the New Testament. There is to be a glad freedom in the grace of God and a liberty in the Holy Spirit. I don’t want you to be confused as to why we gather. Not that we are not worshiping when we gather, but that our reason for meeting is that we are “following hard after God”. We are simply wanting God to fill us with Himself, because we know that He is all that we need. That is why all of our songs have to do with Him. We are not performing an order of worship or doing our duty. We strive to pour our hearts and lives into the participatory experience of glorying in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We do not want there to be a focus on the musical excellence, or the lack thereof. We ought not to sit and judge the delivery of the sermon, or the appearance of other believers. Our focus is to be on God Himself. Every member of the body should gather hungry for God, and wait with anticipation as we pray and sing with all of our hearts and read the scriptures and preach and listen, all with the aim of drinking in His presence, His Word, His Spirit.
The regulative principle is used to apply to worship in the sense that only the Scriptures “sanction” what can and cannot be used in worship. In the scriptures, when Paul and James “sanction” believers to “sing Psalms”, they are using a word that in itself means “a striking, or a twanging” in particular, of a musical instrument. The whole of Psalms, and the matter of singing, clearly lends itself to being accompanied by musical instruments. In fact, a thorough study of instruments in the Psalms gives us the clear understanding that we are to praise Him with instruments. Meditating on the truths of Gods word while listening to an artist play that song beautifully on an instrument brings glory to God. I can play a beautiful song on the piano while worshiping Him in my heart, and the resultant chords sounding forth that song glorifies God. It is not that the sounds are in and of themselves are pleasing to God, but that the hearts and minds of the hearer, or hearers are stimulated to enjoin praise to God. This is God’s idea, not man’s. It is He who has made us and not we ourselves and to authentically sing praises to God, our whole being is to be incorporated. There is nothing wrong, in fact, there is everything right with using musical instruments to enhance our full worship experience and to help engage our hearts and our minds. Not simply one or the other. Music is God’s idea. Instruments are God’s idea. We are enjoined to use instruments in worship and it is to certainly be more than an intellectual exercise. We are to sing praises to God with passion. The Psalms were particularly written to be accompanied by musical instruments.

The regulative principle as used by those who oppose the use of various instruments in worship opposes the very scriptures it purports to uphold, as if one could sing Psalm 150, as sanctioned by James and Paul, and not use the same stringed instrument the Psalms they are singing exhort us to use. Or as if we could sing Psalm 33 and then command not to use the same harp in praising Him that we just sang about. Or sing Psalm 43 and believe that while David could praise Him with a harp, or a ten stringed instrument, we could not praise Him with a six or a twelve stringed instrument.
We have the freedom according to scripture to use instruments in our corporate worship, and we have the admonition to at times use them loudly. There are other times when silence is necessitated. Times when reflective instrumentation is warranted. Times when beautiful accompaniment is needed. (For some of us, it is as beautiful as we can possibly make it with our talents.) And all of these at times should be implemented in our worship. We are going to continue to use Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs. We are going to sing deep theological songs, simple phrases of meditation and reflection concerning those truths, we are going to wait and linger over certain truths at times, sometimes singing them repetitively, like in the Psalms. Sometimes between verses we are going to continue the melody on the instruments in meditative praise, giving the congregation more time to reflect on the truth we just sang. We are going to use different instruments, sometimes more, sometimes less, and sometimes no instruments. Sometimes Old Hymns of the faith, like "It Is Well" and "And Can It Be", sometimes a Hymn like it is written in the Trinity Hymnal, and sometimes I will re-write the song, or use the melody a modern composer has written rather than the old dirges they sometimes used.
As we learn and grow together in the grace of God, we learn to support one another, to uphold one another, to encourage one another and to pray for one another. Our desire is to be a grace-filled church, with an atmosphere of “passion for God” when it comes to worship. As the elder who oversees worship at Rockport, along with the other elders who keep me accountable, my desire it to please God above all. I also desire that our worship services are a blessing to the congregation. As we join together each week let’s encourage and exhort one another in an atmosphere of grace, longing, hungering and thirsting for God.
(an edited version of something I posted on the old website)

The Power of God

Divine unction only comes to those who have kept themselves pure in heart and mind.
Without that unction, ALL of our sermons are mere dribble, no matter how eloquent, persuasive, or intellectual.
Only as we are endued with power from on high as we preach will lives be radically changed.
Stephen Olford said "Beloved, if you stand behind this holy desk and you're life isn't pure; if you're life isn't absolutely holy as far as you know it; if are not walking under an unclouded sky with the ungrieved, unquenched Holy Spirit in your life; then, my friend, you've absolutely blocked the message from any authority whatsoever," he said.
While I was at Stephen Olford's home years ago during his Institute on Biblical Preaching, (there were just a couple of us back then when he first started the Institute in Memphis in 1985), I remember his admonition concerning power.
He said, "Don't you think for a minute that being instant in season and out of season means that you can ask God for His anointing to preach when you need it on Sunday, if you haven't been living in power everyday."
I have tried to remember that on Monday as well as on Saturday, and have always asked my church to be in prayer for me.. We simply cannot afford to let down our guard for a moment. How many men will we see with their armor not on and them ending up on the shelf, with no power, doing no mighty works, preaching merely from the intellect, dispensing no life, with Ichabod written over the lintel of their sanctuaries.
The man of God is to be endued with power from on high as he lives his dedicated life. His prayer should be, "God, if I cannot live my life with a divine anointing to preach and witness to the unbeliever, then just go ahead and take me home now." Oh that men would tarry before God until the power comes. There have been nights when I have waited before God through the night, pleading with Him for power. Most Mondays are spent seeking God and asking for a refilling of His Spirit. I often feel spent after a day of ministering. Yes, we need a fresh anointing all the time. God gives us a fresh anointing. Send down the power from on high. Shake this place where we worship and let the glory of God fall! Send the fire! Wake the sleeping church. Save the deaf, dumb and blind. Open the eyes of those who are blinded by the god of this world. Free those who are shackled by sin. Raise those who are dead to God. These mighty works only happen as the man of God is anointed with the power of God.
Preach with power!

What A God!

As I was watching the sun rise this morning, I was reminded of the faithfulness of God. Every morning He does it again. He is perfect. By the sunrise, I was reminded that our God is indescribably Glorious in Holiness. There is none like Him. In fact, he is altogether Other. Perfectly Other. He is incomprehensibly fearful in praises. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised. He is worthy of the endless praise of all of creation from this time forth and forevermore, yet it all could not render to Him the praise He is due. God also faithfully does inconceivable wonders. Who, but God, would ever think to do things the way He does them. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways. The glorious sunrise I witnessed this morning continues to testify to His faithfulness. Yes, the sun came up again this morning. And it will come up tomorrow morning, until God decides to end it all. After all, He is the only one keeping it all going, and perfectly so. Even in our lives, there are no mistakes, but God, in His perfect timing, constant faithfulness, and wondrous ways, runs our world and our lives. It seems as though I saw written in the sky this morning, just what I have witnessed in my life, "I have been young and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread." Glory be to God!

Press Toward the Mark

Did you know that there actually people who text and play video games and look on the internet during worship services? That's a revelation of the true condition of ones heart isn't it? What are we there for? Why not stay home? Just there for people? If we are there for God, would you not think that games and the internet has no place for a believer in a worship service. Actually, it's quite blasphemous. Giving to something else what we should be giving to God. Which is our all. The hypocrisy of singing "How Great Thou Art" one moment, and the next moment texting a friend to inquire as to where we will eat lunch. or looking at Facebook to see what someone else is doing.
I'll tell ya. The apathy and laziness that is apparent in our pews reveal the ungodly levels to which we have sunk. I'm calling for a burnin'! At least for an appeal to believers that they leave their idols at home while we gather to worship the living God.
This kind of indifference though, really shows us how unconcerned we are to become the worshipers that God has called us to be.

The Walmart Shun

Funny how a friend of mine read this post I borrowed and put on Facebook. She told how her story echoed these thoughts and that she is often "shunned" in Wal-mart. I've been there. I suppose because I no longer believe exactly like those who do the shunning. Perhaps because I left their church long ago? . I will have to get used to the Wal-mart shun. Sad. Life is so short.

From A Scandalous Freedom by Steve Brown:

When the requirement for acceptance in any particular group is to think certain thoughts, to act in certain ways, and to fit in certain molds — and when we don’t think or act that way or fit the mold — we tend to fake it. We put on a mask that says, “I’m just like you. Now, will you please love me and accept me?” I can think of hardly any thing that will kill your joy and freedom more than wearing a mask geared to get others to accept you because you are acting like them.

Allow me to let you in on a secret: Nobody fits the mold, and most of us wear masks to cause others to think we do…. When we give the impression that we have it all together and live “one hundred miles from any known sin,” when we preach and teach about sin with the implication that we are talking about others, when we seem to be anything other than what we are, sinners saved by grace — we do a great disservice to one another, and we become bound to the masks instead of free in Christ.

….

Christ can give you the freedom to stop pretending. Of course, superficial Christians — those who have been wearing their masks for so long that they seem sewed on — will probably reject you. Those who put you on a pedestal and worship there will feel so shocked they might, for a period, not want to have anything to do with you. Religious leaders into control will probably kick you out of their groups, because honesty and control hardly ever sleep well together. Those kinds of people will probably pray for you and give you a wide berth.

If that happens, celebrate. You have now determined who is and who isn’t playing games with your mind and your heart. And you will feel surprised how much easier it is to come clean about who you really are. It takes a lot of emotional gasoline to keep the mask straight… and now you won’t have to do it any more.

My Longing

I long for the day when Jesus comes back personally to claim his own. I long for the day when I am fully free from sin and am able to fully and freely worship my Lord. I am tired of this world and its agenda and wish for the eyes of multitudes to be opened rather than just a few at a time. I long for holiness, without which no man will see the Lord. I long to be free from this body of death. I am so thirsty for the fullness of God and long to be filled to overflowing with the fullness of His Holy Spirit. I long for the day when there is no more pain, no more sorrow and no more tears. Mostly for my family and friends. It hurts me when they hurt. For 31 years now I have walked with the Lord, and my faith seems weakest in times of prosperity. Not that I am not happy. I am. Normally. But my walk is just not as consistent. What a weakness. Weakness after weakness. Oh to be free. To be with Him, forever. Until then, I fear that years may pass before I am any wit like the Lord Jesus. He is worthy of His reward.

A Savor of Life Unto Life

As we live our lives as Christians, we will either have a good smell or we will reek. Our lives should cause the gospel to smell good. To other believers that is. To the lost, our lives should bring conviction. In particular, the conviction that should they not believe, they will perish.
The way we live enhances the flavor of the gospel. Paul warned the Corinthians that they should not peddle the Word of God. Basically, we shouldn't give out the Word of God for what we get out of it. What do you get from getting out the Word of God? Think about it!
Uh, or do you get out the Word of God at all? Wow, now that's a thought. Why bother living it if we don't believe it enough to tell other people about it?
So, how are you smelling today?

Jesus Loves Me This I Know - repost

Some questions have been asked concerning my message on Sunday Morning, “Jesus Loves Me This I Know”, and the question of our sins and God’s anger. I want to try to make this response as brief as possible. I want to begin by affirming that, NO dear friends, God is not angry with us because of our sins. Now doesn’t that cause the believer to want to go out and sin with impunity? No, it doesn’t. The gospel makes the believer want to live a holy life. The question is, how does he do that, which is actually another message, but part of the answer is believing that what God says is true. Actually, it is very common for believers to live lives filled with guilt concerning their sins, and feel that God is continually mad, or “upset” with them. No, dear ones, God has forgiven you “all trespasses”. Isn’t He gracious? Isn’t He kind? Doesn’t that make you want to love Him more? Be patient. “He that has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” It is His love, kindness and forgiveness that excite us towards a practical living out a pure life, not His anger.
One verse that was referenced in questions about God’s anger for sin toward the believer was Gal 5:7.
Gal 5:7- Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for what ever a man sows that will he also reap.
The context of this verse has most to do with the believer doing good, especially concerning those who labor in the gospel
He is certainly not talking about the sins of a believer, for in the very next verse, the result of the wrong type of sowing is corruption, and the result of the right type of sowing is eternal life.
If anything, this verse has more of a reference to character and a hope for eternity, whether false or true.
It makes for “good preaching on sin”, to use this verse to attempt to prevent the believer from sinning, but it is simply the wrong use of scripture for a gospel preacher.
If this verse is the only ground we are going to stand on to attempt to prove that “God gets angry with his children”, than we are on shaky ground.
Spiritual warfare again sin is another subject, which always needs to be addressed. The true believer always desires to fight against sin, but the question of how that is scripturally carried on is another subject also. I would maintain that a big part of it is having our minds renewed concerning sin, the cross and the love of God. We are always to admonish one another concerning sin, but more importantly, we are to point one another to Christ. The believer is always to strive against and resist sin, but how is that accomplished? We are admonished by Paul in Romans concerning “reckoning” and “yielding” and it would pay great dividends to us to study what he says. Scott covered this beautifully in his exegesis of Romans, where the doctrine of sin is most full covered. Scott’s work on this subject is very clear.
In essence, when we understand that "We are dead, and our lives are hidden with God in Christ" Col 3:3, our theology about God's attitude towards us my get cleared up.
Another question that was raised was concerning the "discipline of God". Yes, God does discipline his children, but it always in love. God never disciplines his children in anger. (by the way, just like we should not!) His discipline is "for our good", not as a result of His being angry at us. it is simply His way of training the believer for godliness.
when I was in training for football, it was rigorous. It was often painful. It was sometimes not fun! but there was no anger or punishment involved. I was being prepared for survival! When a head to head collision came between me and some young 20 year old college football player, I wanted to be prepared. My trainers and coaches were kind to me to get me ready for those days, or I may not be walking today. God is so kind and good to discipline His children, and give them His grace in order to endure trials.
the scriptures teach us that it is God's goodness that leads us to repentance, not His wrath. that, glory to Him, was vented upon Christ, for us.
let's rejoice that we have such a loving God, who although He will pour out His wrath without mixture upon them that do not know Christ, upon His blessed children, He will lavish only grace upon grace.

Worship in Study

The Scriptures tell us to "study to show ourselves approved unto God". I Timothy 2:15 Study is one of the highest forms of worship. If you received a love letter from your lover, and merely glanced at it and threw it aside, it would reveal a problem in the relationship.

Believers ought to study God's Word passionately. There ought to be a daily and intimate relationship developed through the diligent study of God's Word. A true worshiper cannot help but to dive into the text he is reading and do all that he can do to understand what the sweet author is saying to him. He should diligently compare what He has said in other places, and if possible, study the original languages.

I am involved at this time in an intense study of Greek. Something that I have desired to do for many years after having dropped the course because of a failing grade, due to raising a family, working and in general not having the time to devote to every class.
I took the easy way out and have regretted it ever since. Now I am not saying that one has to study the original languages to know what God is saying. Far from it. But something of our study should reveal that we are passionate about the God we love. Our study should manifest itself in worship. Study is worship. How are you worshiping God in your study today? Then how will you worship Him on Sunday?

We beseech thee!

The word beseech isn't used any more. It is a strong word that means to entreat, but so much more. There is a passion and a longing in the word beseech. When the writers of the sacred text used the word beseech it had to do with things that were eternally significant. Perhaps that is exactly why we don't beseech God much anymore. We simply say our prayers, or ask the Lord for certain things.

We don't like to get down and dirty when it comes to prayer. We would never find ourselves wallerin' on the floor crying out to God. We, quite frankly, are too sophisticated. And so are our words. We frame our petitions and contemplate the elegance of our requests. How un-needy we are nowadays that we pray without sweat or strong tears.

Do we wonder that we never seem to "take hold of God"? Do we really want God? Or would we secretly rather hold on to our worldly life-styles?

I fear that, yes, we are comfortable where we are at. And that scares me. Oh how pride goeth before a fall.

"I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot."

Why All Of Those Who Are Baptist Should Cooperate Together In Spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I copied the following four statements from SBC websites. The second and fourth are duplications of point number 5 and 14 of the Baptist Faith and Message. The third is a duplication of points 4 and 5 of the original charter of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, commonly called the Abstract of Principles. I include these foremost in order to show that what both sides of the issues need to understand is that there is historical precedence set for the stand each side is taking. From my point of view, the historical Calvinistic stand is the least understood, and has been relegated to a hyper-calvinistic view, when in fact it is not.
(I.)
God's Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. …All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.
(II.)
God's Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
(III.)
IV. Providence.
God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.

V. Election.
Election is God's eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life -- not because of foreseen merit in them, but of his mere mercy in Christ -- in consequence of which choice they are called, justified and glorified.
(IV.)
XIV. Cooperation
Christ's people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner. Members of New Testament churches should cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ's Kingdom. Christian unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for common ends by various groups of Christ's people. Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations, when the end to be attained is itself justified, and when such cooperation involves no violation of conscience or compromise of loyalty to Christ and His Word as revealed in the New Testament.

It is not my intention in this article to debate the subject of Calvinism. For one thing, many of our church members today do not know what one means when they use the term "Calvinism". I prefer Augustinianism, if you must have an identifier, because Augustine first espoused what we now call Calvinism, in particular in his controversy with Pelagius. Pelagius made salvation a choice of the free will and did not favor as severe view of the fall as Augustine. (For us as Baptists, it might even be helpful to think in terms of “Spurgeon-ism”, since the much revered Charles Spurgeon held fast to these same truths)
Nowadays, most Baptists that I know hold to at least some of Augustines’ tenets, which are referred to as “The Doctrines of Grace”, or Calvinism.. They may call themselves 3, 4 or 5 point Calvinists if cornered, but normally prefer to simply be known as Baptist. The one point of Calvinism that most in the SBC adhere to is the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, commonly called "eternal security". None of those who have studied modern church history can deny that for years now, there have been at least two major camps within Baptist circles regarding Calvinism: those who emphasize limited atonement, or other points of Calvinism, and those who emphasize man’s free will, or other points of Pelagianism, (or actually today, semi-Pelagianism*) commonly now called Arminianism, after, the Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius. I would suggest a thorough study of both Calvinism and Arminianism, and most Baptists will come to the conclusion that, yes, indeed, they adhere to some of the points of Calvinism if not all. (I will deal with the question of hyper-calvinism, which is a different animal later.)
*Full blown Pelagianism emphasizes man’s will to such a degree, that atonement is not necessary. Men are not seen as born sinners. Instead it is thought that they are able to emulate Christ’s example and save themselves by their good works. Semi-Pelagianism, on the other hand, believes men are born in sin, but have the "capacity" to choose Christ of their own free will regardless of regeneration. Basically, in Calvinism, God regenerates a soul, giving him the ability to believe, and in semi-pelagianism, a sinner believes so that God can regenerate him. Can we not center our fellowship around the doctrine of justification by faith? Can we not focus on repentance and faith being the prerequisites for salvation, resulting in the forgiveness of sins and the imputed righteousness of Christ? These we all agree on. I am willing to uphold my integrity as to my belief in "how and why" faith comes, and yet allow the latitude for my brother to come to a conclusion in that area that is different than mine and still work together with the desire at hand, which is for as many as possible to come to faith. I agree with Spurgeon when he says that "we care far more for the central evangelical truths than we do for Calvinism as a system; but we believe that Calvinism has in it a conservative force which helps to hold me to the vital truth, and therefore we are sorry to see any quitting it who have once accepted it”. We are after all organized to aid in spreading the gospel around the world, not to police one another.
Again, my point is not to debate the subject at hand, but to merely suggest that we, at least we in the Jefferson Baptist Association, are probably not going to finalize a debate that has gone on for years, but that with mature, prayerful consideration of our responsibilities as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can cooperate in order to spread the gospel around the world, and evangelize as many as possible in the short time that we have.

Defamation
Friends, it is impossible for us to have the blessing of God upon our lives if we insist on tearing down our brothers. While it is always helpful for us to study the scriptures and have healthy and sometimes fiery debate, we cannot slander our brothers in Christ or in anyway attempt to undermine their efforts for Jesus Christ and think that God will wink at our actions. On both sides of this issue, I have heard good men cross the line when speaking of those who interpret the scriptures differently when it comes to these doctrines. According to the Baptist Faith and Message, we all agree on the doctrine of election. We simply disagree on how a person arrives at that election. And that is alright. Our main focus in our association should be in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in order that all may hear. It is our job to get the gospel out to the ends of the world. Wherever the banner of our Savior is not being flown, we should be fierce about going, or supporting someone who is going. Surely we understand that the complexity of baptist life would require us to yield to our brothers often, in many areas. We have seen this at the national level. As long as we maintain doctrinal integrity that is within the historic beliefs of baptists, there should be no problem

Extremes
There are some positions on both sides of this issue that need to be pointed out. They should be defined and explained in laymen’s terms in order to facilitate our working together.
1. Hyper Calvinism – Hyper-Calvinism emphasizes divine sovereignty to the exclusion of human responsibility. The doctrine of hyper-calvinism would tell us that there is no need for the believer to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, because God has determined whom He would save and He will save them without our help. They would say, or at least imply that there is no reason for us to evangelize or send out missionaries. That we cannot sincerely make an offer of the gospel to everyone, because God has not chosen everyone to be saved. The result of this error is a “sit and wait” mentality. We’ll sit and wait until God gets around to saving his elect. But we will not do anything to call men to put their faith in Jesus Christ.
These all, we utterly reject.
A true Calvinist, like Spurgeon, or for that matter William Carey the father of modern missions, knows of the great responsibility we have to get the gospel out and to support missions. That hyper-calvinism is dangerous and unbiblical we would all agree. It is important to point this out. A Calvinist is not the same as a hyper-calvinist. As I said, from the Baptist Faith and Message, it is clear that we are all Calvinists to some degree. Broadus and Manley, where we get our "Broadman press", William Carey, that great missionary, Adoniram Judson, John Bunyan, B. H. Carroll, Alvah Hovey, A. H. Strong, J. P. Boyce, John L. Dagg, Richard Fuller and many others were all "Calvinists" of the five point type. It is by no means a new invention that Baptists are Calvinists.
Most Baptists would agree with the total depravity of man, yet would insist that man is responsible to repent and believe the gospel. Many Baptist would agree with unconditional election, that God is at least infallible in His foreknowledge, define it how you will. Most Baptists with a few exceptions believe “once saved always saved”. That is called the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, or the last part of point 5 in the Baptist Faith and Message. Most all of us disagree strongly with Hyper-Calvinism, and reject the notion that we are not responsible to preach the gospel, evangelize and do missions. The apostle Paul rejoiced when the gospel was preached, even if it was because of contention. So should we. And we should never be those who attempt to thwart the work or ministries of those who by preaching HIS GOSPEL are calling men to repentance and faith and are attempting to do so around the world.

2. Easy-believism – Easy-believism is the notion that salvation entails a mere assent the the facts of the gospel message. It has been termed decisional regeneration or decisionism for short. Those who promote the man-centered tactics of easy-believism would maintain that all that is needed for a man to be saved is for him to affirm the truths of the gospel as they presented to him. It excludes the necessity for the conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit and the responsibility for man to repent.
These, even Baptists who would not categorize themselves as Calvinists, would reject as not belonging to the way of salvation. This type of evangelism is to be rejected outright as being no more than an art of manipulation akin to convincing men to join a club because of its benefits. Baptists have historically required both a true repentance from sin, which is followed by a life of biblical fruit, and a sincere faith in the merit and work of Jesus Christ alone which benefits are applied to the believer upon his conversion.
What is interesting is that those who are either 3, 4 or 5 point Calvinists were among those who began to see errors of decisionism and the lack of fruit in our Baptist churches because of it, and after identifying it, began to categorize many who are not of a like Calvinistic mind as belonging to the those promoting decisionism. This general attack in the direction of any church which held an altar call was unwarranted, and only resulted historically in a return of fire from the other direction, both sides being the worse for it.

The Invitation System
While many Baptists who hold invitations would never agree to the above definition of easy-believism, it is also easy to witness the actual methodology of those who do being practiced in some of our Baptist churches today. While most all degree of Calvinists in our association would insist on a clear call for sinners to repent and believe and for believers to examine their lives, some would also insist that there are other ways to extend that call than to ask people to “come down the aisle.” We have no record of any form of the modern invitation being given in the church for 1800 years, but there has always been a clear invitation given for sinners to repent and trust Christ. Some churches have used a counseling room as a place to go to for counseling if someone has sensed an immediate urge to repent and trust in Christ. I know of no Calvinists even of the 5 point type who would refuse to counsel anyone in the gospel if they “came down the aisle” of their church in obvious spiritual need.
On the other hand, I have seen a number of people converted in their homes after having heard the gospel and brought under conviction by the Holy Spirit. We all know that there is no secret formula that must be prayed when a person is converted, but that it is a matter of the heart.
Unfortunately, many of those who have invitations and have seen the result of many coming down the aisle who nevertheless show no lasting fruit in their lives(thus revealing the truth that they were never truly converted), have failed to be more cautious when dealing with souls. Calvinists have watched the efforts of mass evangelism, and the promotion of numbers and baptisms result in a flood of unregenerated people filling our churches and scores who either struggle with the assurance of their salvation or depend on a time they went down an aisle or prayed a prayer, rather than continuing to trust in the Savior they claimed to be saved by.
Please let me reiterate that we all as Baptists demand that an invitation be given for sinners to repent and trust in Christ as their Saviour. We believe that invitation is given clearly every time we preach the gospel. When I am preaching on the streets, I am constantly giving an invitation. Sometimes people stop, and I personally call them to repentance. When I was a missionary in New York City, I preached on the streets there, went door to door, and from the pulpit, gave an invitation for sinners to come to Christ. We believe in invitations. We believe it is our responsibility to preach the gospel around the world and invite sinners to come to Christ. We do it every day. Is it so bad that our method of invitation is different. Where in the scripture does it spell out a need to have an “altar call” as so many do today? I have had altar calls and I have told people to think about and pray about what they just heard. It was just a few months ago that a sinner came to my home obviously distraught at his lost condition. He was under deep conviction by the Holy Spirit. It was obvious that God was doing a work in his soul. Could I have led him in a prayer at that time? Certainly. I have done it hundreds and hundreds of times. But our responsibility when we lead people to Christ is to be sensitive to where they truly are, and to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and to be spiritual surgeons who handle the Word of God like a scalpel. He was obviously struggling with some sin. After counseling in the gospel, I sent him home to pray. He went home and got alone with God and the sweet Holy Spirit showed the light on some sin of his and he cried out to God and was gloriously converted. What a bright light that young man is today. What hope has filled his family now that he is genuinely converted. We simply can’t get it down to a science and professionally lead people to pray a prayer, decide for Christ, or join a church. Our contention is that the call to come to Christ is entailed in the very gospel we preach, and it is up to the preacher of the gospel to both give that call and carefully and prayerfully deal with the souls that come under his counsel.
The modern resurgence of those who have gone back to the more ancient roots of Augustinianism is greatly populated by the very same people who were either brought up in some type of easy-believism, or once practiced it themselves. Some in this revolution, which those in it would term a “work of God”, have been tempted to classify even good Baptist ministries who adhere to neither a system of easy-believism, or Calvinism, as belonging in the easy-believism camp. This is wrong. I love my dear brothers who do not agree doctrinally with me, but are faithful in preaching the gospel and supporting world-wide missions, and name calling simply does not have a place in our baptist associations.

In my opinion, there is nothing inherently wrong with the invitation system per se. Many Baptist churches hold invitations, but are prayerful and careful in counseling with those who are being dealt with by the Holy Spirit. There is often time taken to pray, sometimes continuing on to an inquiry room, there is often scripture read, and there are times when souls are genuinely converted at the front of a church. The problem that many Calvinists see is when there is a mass of people who are led in a prayer, and then told that since they prayed that prayer they are going to heaven. I certainly don’t want to entertain any thoughts that would appear derogatory, but simply let me say that souls are worth spending time with. The Holy Spirit is more than able to finish any work that He starts. (Which does not mean that He does not use man in the process of evangelism, He certainly does.) The problem is when it is apparent that God is not working at all. There is no apparent conviction, no desire to forsake sin and no real faith in the finished work of Christ, but simply a desire to escape hell. I have many examples to site, but on the other hand, I could offer just as many examples where sinners were truly converted after the preaching of the gospel. They “came down the aisle” and were prayed with and God saved them. None of us doubt that! It is caution when dealing with souls that we demand, whether you deal with them during an invitation or during an appointment at a later time. It is entirely too common for those who deal with souls not to be familiar with the gospel and to attempt to convince an inquirer that, if they would simply “pray this prayer after me”, they would be converted. I don’t mind leading someone in a prayer, if I am convinced that they are praying from the heart. But if indeed The Holy Spirit has them under conviction and it is from the heart, and they have understood the gospel, would they not be saved regardless of whether they “prayed the right words” or not, if there was true repentance and faith in Jesus Christ?
Those are some of the concerns of Calvinists when it comes to the invitation system. The downside of all of this is that, many who don’t understand either the Calvinistic roots of our Baptist heritage and/or don’t understand biblical Calvinism (Augustinianism), are prone to identify the lack of an invitation or just the word Calvinist with Hyper-Calvinism. Even the most conservative of those adhering to an Augustinian position would have trouble with the positions they are often accused of having. Let me say loudly, “We are not hyper-calvinists.” I would like to hear just as loudly proclaimed on the other side; “we are not among those who promote easy-believism. We believe in the Baptist Faith and Message. We believe in the perseverance of the saints. We believe in the doctrine of election according to grace.” Let both sides loudly proclaim, we reject both easy-believism and hyper-calvinism, and we shall be on solid ground. At least solid enough to labor together to get the gospel out, and send the saints around the world in mission endeavors.
Both easy-believism and hyper-calvinism are dangerous positions which should be rejected by all gospel loving, mission-minded Baptists. It is also just as harmful to the cause of Christ, for those on either side to classify our brothers to the extreme side. The desire to defame, destroy or undermine our Baptist brethren does not help the cause of the gospel, but rather hinders it. Hyper-calvinism is not defined by whether you are a 3, 4 or 5 point Calvinist, but by your response to those truths in regards to missionary endeavors, evangelism, and the responsibility and duty of man. Easy-believism is not defined by whether you have an invitation or not, but by how you respond to the need for the gospel to be taken seriously by understanding that salvation is a work of God whereby the Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin upon a sinner bringing him to repent and believe without doing any damage to his will. Understanding that salvation is a work of God will not only give the confidence needed to clearly preach the gospel, but will result in a reliance on the power of God in conversion rather than the ability of man. Not that persuasion and convincing is not a part of the art of preaching, but that we rely on the power of God in all of these things.
Human reasoning entering into the debate.
On both sides of this issue I have both heard and read men using human reasoning in order to justify what they believe. I don’t believe that is necessary or warranted. Do I believe the debate is necessary? Of course! Iron sharpens iron, and we as God’s men should be diligent about what we believe and why we believe it. But the debate does not have to degenerate. We can, like many of those in leadership of the Southern Baptist convention, have healthy dialogue, yet work together in preaching the gospel. I know of no preacher worth his salt who would preach either hyper-calvinism or easy-believism to a lost man. Yes, we can stand on our doctrine and even debate about it, yet we must be one in keeping our focus on getting the gospel out to the uttermost parts of the earth. That includes working together in our associational Camps in order to come to terms with one another’s differences in approach and methodology and seeking to find common ground where we can not only preach the gospel, but invite sinners to trust in Christ and counsel them to that end. We urge all men everywhere to repent and to trust in our Wonderful Savior.
I think the common ground we need to start on is that God is absolutely sovereign and man is absolutely responsible in the gracious work of salvation. Let us as Baptists make a resolution that in spite of our differences in doctrine and methodology, we are servants of the King and stand shoulder to shoulder with the banner of His gospel, His death, burial and resurrection, and the need for men to repent and trust in Christ as their Savior.
From there, let us send our missionaries out, stand on the streets and preach the gospel, pass out our gospel tracts, preach to our youth, preach to our congregations and give the clear call of the gospel, and advance the Kingdom of God.

Rev. Bob Schembre

Rockport Baptist Church

Worship - a response to a brother

It was not that long ago, that I had an interaction with a dear brother regarding the subject of a saint shouting during our worship services. Like all matter where there is disagreement, there must be communication. At that time I shared with our dear brother the following note, and thought that it would be edifying to include it here in my thoughts on worship. I have removed the names in the note and one or two identifying sentences. I hope that anyone who can receive understanding and/or help from this response will find it.

Dear___________,

Thank you for your interest in this matter. I don't wish to debate, so this will be my only response, at least on this for now. That is why I addressed preachers. I didn’t want to bring all of this out for now. Another time maybe, but I am not interested in debating at this time. As with other issues I am tempted to think that you have your mind made up on this issue. But at any rate, I won't judge you and will entertain your thoughts.
You begin by quoting numerous verses on edification. Very well. Since God has called me to give my life for the edification of the saints, I must hasten to agree on the import of this subject. However, the subject at hand is worship, and although you cite these verses and conclude by saying that edification is of “first priority”, I also must hasten to strongly disagree.
In fact, first priority in worship is Godward. First priority is pleasing God, focusing on God, lifting up praises to God, bowing before God. It is all about God. During worship, while edification is important, it is not the most important issue. Teaching the saints to exult in God is the most important issue.
2Sa 6:15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
1Ch 15:28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.
2Ch 15:14 And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
Ps 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Ps 5:11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
Ps 32:11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
Ps 47:1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
Ps 132:9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.
Ps 132:16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Brother, shouting is as scriptural as singing. Now, I have seen the charismania in some churches, and would not want the disorder associated with that movement, but would you really think that it was love to censor a brother who was so full of joy over what Christ has done for him that he shouted one time during the service. Would you really be ready to judge his motives and say that that one shout was disorderly? Perhaps you are not comfortable with shouting. Our formative paths and experiences are different brother, and Christian love calls for a largeness of latitude and forbearance when it comes to expressions of praise. As I said to another brother, I will not judge your lack of emotions, and neither should you judge my emotions.
You are judging also whether the church is edified by certain expressions of emotion. I have been greatly edified on any number of occasions when the truth which was being sung or preached impacted a saint so much that that dear saint had to cry out to God. Who am I to judge that dear saint? Isn't it needful for the body to be hospitable and gracious to a saint who gets so stirred by the truth that is being sung or preached that it comes forth in what appears to many, both now and historically in many Baptist churches, to be a response that is quite within the limits of appropriate scriptural response.
Now maybe your background doesn't give you that experience. Perhaps you have never been in a baptist church when someone has shouted, and there are many good, solid, bible-believing churches, with nothing that most believers would classify as disorderly, where shouting sporadically takes place.
I had an older brother in the Lord who used to get moved by the truth often. He was a former alcoholic, and God had gloriously saved him and he never got over it. "Once in awhile old brother so and so is going to shout", was simply the way we handled it. What is so wrong with that? Have we come to the time in our Baptist churches that we are going to attempt to legislate the praises of God's people?
Now I believe in standing against the modern day charismatic movement and all that it stands for, but that is not us brother. Many of the old Regular Baptists, where we Calvinists get our heritage still shout today. Many of the Independent Baptist churches have members who shout. I have never seen it get out of order. And I have never in my twenty seven years of ministering seen people upset because another saint gets excited about the Lord and say that it just ruins the whole service for them. Brother, the whole thing quite frankly sounds ludicrous to me. I am trying to understand but am really having difficulty comprehending what seems to be bitter resistance, when holding it all up to the light of scripture.
Every single believer ought to be growing in grace and learning more and becoming more and more intimate. Brother, in my private devotions, I get so emotional nowadays over what God has done for me, that sometimes I don't know what to do. I waller and holler and thank God that He has saved me. The people in my church have never seen so much self-control, discretion, restraint for the sake of the body, subjection of my spirit and willingness to not be the center of attention, but one or two shouts during a service should be no more distracting than a loud off key singer. ( God give us more who sing loudly as the scripture teaches, even if off key.)
Brother, seriously, we need to be humble and not judge the motives of our brothers and sisters in Christ, especially in an area so clearly spelled out in scripture. You would have to strain at a gnat to say that shouting is not allowed in worship services if you searched the scriptures on worship. I have. Over the years I have taught a series on worship and have carefully studied every single use of anything having to do with worship and praise and every word involved including the Hebrew and the Greek. We are simply not talking about disorder when a saint cries out. Every believer ought to learn the disciplines also, not just of self-restraint, but of not being easily distracted. We ought to be going so hard after God and worshiping with all of our might that it would be very difficult to get our attention off of God. All too often though, many are simply watching others. That is why so many, who really want to just lift up their hands and worship God don't. They are afraid what others will think of them. Shame. (And you really have to strain to say that the scriptures teach that the raising of the hands in worship is anything but that.)
Ps 28:2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
Ps 63:4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
Ps 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
Ps 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Here is Spurgeon’s Quote –
“When I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle: which holy place was the type of our Lord Jesus; and if we would gain acceptance, we must turn ourselves evermore to the blood besprinkled mercy seat of his atonement. Uplifted hands have ever been a form of devout posture, and are intended to signify a reaching upward towards God, a readiness, an eagerness to receive the blessing sought after. We stretch out empty hands, for we are beggars; we lift them up, for we seek heavenly supplies; we lift them towards the mercy seat of Jesus, for there our expectation dwells. ‘I will lift up my hands in thy name.’ For worship the hands were uplifted, as also in joy, in thanksgiving, in labour, in confidence; in all these senses we would lift up our hands in Jehovah’s name alone. No hands need hang down when God draws near in love. The name of Jesus has often made lame men leap as a hart, and it has made sad men clap their hands for joy.
The New Testament is absent of many things about worship Bro. I believe that the particulars in the New Testament are not strangely absent, but purposefully absent, because the gospel was going out into all the world and there would be a wide variety in styles of worship throughout the nations and the ages. Thus there are precious few guidelines for worship in the New Testament. What we get from overall principles are from the Old Testament. Now I am not a dispensationalist and understand the ramifications of that theology. I believe that Old Testament saints were saved by grace just like today, and if they had something to shout about with the types and shadows, we New Testament believers who no longer have figures, but Christ Himself, and His shed blood have much more of a reason to shout. I'm about ready to shout right now.
Now is one expression or the lack of more spiritual than the other? Of course not. Whoever thought of such a silly notion? We are all different. You yourself said that most of the responses thus far were subjective, and that the fine line between what may lead to disunity and what is acceptable practice is subjective. Most of your responses have been subjective. Because we are all different. Why is it that the brother who cries out to God because of the enormous truth he is dwelling upon may be causing disunity, but the brother who is opposing him, or judging him is not causing disunity? It all depends on who you talk to in this subjective area.
You said that you like to hear an Amen now and then during the sermon. During the truth being preached in sermon, but not the truth being sung about in the songs? What is the difference? In considering an "amen" during the message, here's my question, "How is that OK and not disruptive (when all is quiet), but an "amen" or "hallelujah" during the singing when all are singing any way is not? Most of the answers are going to be subjective.
Now you said that the model for the church is inward peace, joy and faith. Hmmm. I strongly disagree. You have taken your subjective view of worship and want to use it as a rule. The New Testament model is liberty and freedom. Order yes. Silliness and trivialities no. Gravity yes. Gladness yes. Dull, emotionless worship no. Emotions in worship is another long subject though.
Brother, let's worship together in our church. Let's worship God passionately. You inwardly, me from inward to outward.
If somebody gets out of line with anything stupid like barking, laughing, crawling down the aisles, or speaking in tongues the leaders would quickly address it.
But for God's sake, let's not try to put out fires that God starts in peoples hearts. I haven't seen any wild fires or strange fires and am not going to judge that the passion in another saint is anything but pure.

In Christ’s Magnificent and Awesome Love,
Bob

Worshiping on the Surface

After reading 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 this morning, I began thinking about the relationships that I have in church. Some are very dear. I love these people. I try to pray for as many of the members of our congregation as I can, but it is better when the Elders split up the congregation for prayer. At least it is easier.
I think of those who I don't really know very well. I think of those who seem to have somewhat against me. (this is not paranoia. These are things that have been brought to me by the Elders) I think of our biblical responsibility as Elders to exercise church discipline. This is not simply punitive in nature. Part of being a healthy functioning church is that there are no divisions, i.e. that there are no members who won't have anything to do with other members. In fact, love requires this. Now, I certainly don't have the time or the energy to go chasing around members who have been offended by me. (it seems that is all to common in my years of ministry. I think I have large feet.) But certainly, it would behoove us to bring our differences to our brother and be fully reconciled. I have been extended love beyond measure in this congregation. I have never seen it like this. Yet, there are always those who are tender and are the walking wounded. My prayer is that there would be a boldness in these tender ones to approach me in order that we may reconcile and share our love in Christ. If our relationships are only on the surface, then our worship can go no deeper. For that matter, the bible insists that we do not worship our Lord, if we are at odds with any brother at all. First, leave your gift at the altar. Be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Courtship - An Admonishment

I would like to discuss an appropriate way to look at courtship. With our aversion for the dating scene, it is all too easy to skip a critical process in preparation for marriage that involves a mature, patient waiting on God. The exclusion of dating which leads to courtship can make young believers feel that they are trapped or committed if they are led to look at courtship more like an engagement process than a vital step in examining ourselves in the light of God's directions and learning more about our potential mate.
A young lady could possibly have several suitors in the process of courtship, none of which may appeal to her or none of which would be entertained by her parents. In the case of one of the young men appealing to her, I believe that the understanding of a more biblical view of courtship would go a long way towards preventing hastiness in a major life decision and encouraging a lower view of courtship than us who have nixed the dating scene have adopted.
Those who are courting should know that they are friends who like each other, and have an interest towards each other. They should focus on seeking God's will and praying for God's blessing on each others lives. IT IS ALL ABOUT HIM! It is about His kingdom, and what He wants to do with His people in His kingdom.
During courtship, the young couple should spend time with the church family and the family of the parents, getting to know one another, becoming good friends and caring for each other as brother and sister in the Lord with all purity.They should be praying for one another, encouraging one another in Christ, to walk in the ways of our Lord, pursue intimacy with Him, and to become the man or woman of God that He created us to be.
They are to be watching the lives of their potential mate, observing the ways of the family, listening to the words and responses of one another, hearing their motives and attitude towards the things of God, or the absence thereof. They should be looking for a yieldedness to the Lord Jesus Christ in all things, including the direction of their relationship and they should be yielding to the will of God in all things.
If the relationship of those "courting", is all about their feeling of love for one another, nurturing those feelings and becoming obsessed with what they want, then strong admonition is necessary and should be provided by family or church leadership. It is in this dangerous time that biblical admonition regarding patience should be exercised.

A fruit of the Spirit is patience. Waiting is good. And it is the art of patiently waiting for God to work that often saves a marriage. There is a difference between waiting and waiting patiently. Many a young lady is waited on by an impatiently waiting young man. And impatience is dangerous. Paul taught Timothy to pursue patience. Courtship is not pursuing one that you want to marry, rather, it should not be in my opinion. Courtship is determining the will of God concerning two people.

This patient waiting should involve prayer and thankfulness. Prayer has an amazing way of helping us with patience. And we should count it all joy that the "God of patience" is working in us.

Courtship should be a beautiful time of waiting, worship of God, and seeing your friend conformed to the image of Christ.

The couple should be waiting on God to see if He will use them together to serve HIM as a married couple, if God has someone else for them, or if they are going to serve HIM alone. They should be waiting patiently on God and aligning themselves with purity, holiness and the Word of God.

There should be a clear understanding that if the courtship does not work out, the couple will be mature enough to part as friends, without resentment and with all due respect for each other's feelings.

Remember guys, it's all about Him, it is not about you. Put your hope in Christ alone and be willing to engage or let go within a few months. That may seem a rather arbitrary amount of time, but I have my reasons and may include them in a later post.

Courtship Prayer: Lord, have your way in us. If this is to be, then YOU do it.

Singing

The scriptures exhort us to sing. We should enjoy singing, and sing every day. We ought to be a singing people. We have a reason to sing. No one but a believer can know the hope that we have in Christ. We should sing to ourselves in Psalms, Hymns and spiritual songs. Our thoughts should be saturated with scriptural songs. Good doctrinal songs. Wonderful praise songs. We should sing with all of our hearts. And when we gather for corporate worship, we should sing lustily and gladly. What a Savior! We will sing with our new voices for all eternity and praise the One who has given us life and hope. Be a singing believer, and you will find yourself mounting up to higher ground. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live. I will sing this new song to the Lord.

HOPE AND WORSHIP

We gather to worship because our only hope is Jesus Christ. As I read the Psalms, I make it a habit to ask myself if I am doing what the Psalms say. When the Psalmist says "I trust in the Lord", I ask myself if I am trusting in the Lord. Or am I trusting in myself, my abilities, my strength or my resolve. When David refers to God as his refuge, I ask myself if I am fleeing to Him or to other things for my comfort, my escape, my rest, my strength, or my protection.
We often choose other sources of refuge. We put our trust in men or things. We see a bright future for us if certain things will happen. To what are you fleeing to today? What would you wish would happen that would make everything right? In what do you take comfort? How do you feel safe?
If the answer to any of these are anything other than God, (and please be honest with yourself, otherwise, why are we having this discussion?) then you need to understand that you are only placing your hope in something that will never and can never be what you think it will. You have been deceived. You have fallen for the lie. You worship what you hope in.

The Power of God

Well, I had a bad day. But God is good. i thought I would just transfer an old post that I think is worth reading for today's post. It has a bit to do with last Sunday evening's message. Here ya go.

Divine unction only comes to those who have kept themselves pure in heart and mind.
Without that unction, ALL of our sermons are mere dribble, no matter how eloquent, persuasive, or intellectual.
Only as we are endued with power from on high will lives be radically changed.
Stephen Olford said "Beloved, if you stand behind this holy desk and you're life isn't pure; if you're life isn't absolutely holy as far as you know it; if are not walking under an unclouded sky with the ungrieved, unquenched Holy Spirit in your life; then, my friend, you've absolutely blocked the message from any authority whatsoever," he said.
While I was at Stephen Olford's home years ago during his Institute on Biblical Preaching, (there were just a couple of us back then when he first started the Institute in Memphis in 1985), I remember his admonition concerning power.
He said, "Don't you think for a minute that being instant in season and out of season means that you can ask God for His anointing to preach when you need it on Sunday, if you haven't been living in power everyday."
I have tried to remember that on Monday as well as on Saturday, and have always asked my church to be in prayer for me.. We simply cannot afford to let down our guard for a moment. How many men will we see with their armor not on and they ending up on the shelf, with no power, doing no mighty works, preaching merely from the intellect, dispensing no life, with Ichabod written over the lintel of their sanctuaries.
The man of God is to be endued with power from on high as he lives his dedicated life. His prayer should be, "God, if I cannot live my life with a divine anointing to preach and witness to the unbeliever, then just go ahead and take me home now." Oh that men would tarry before God until the power comes. There have been nights when I have waited before God through the night, pleading with Him for power. Most Mondays are spent seeking God and asking for a refilling of His Spirit. I often feel spent after a day of ministering. Yes, we need a fresh anointing all the time. God gives us a fresh anointing. Send down the power from on high. Shake this place where we worship and let the glory of God fall! Send the fire! Wake the sleeping church. Save the deaf, dumb and blind. Open the eyes of those who are blinded by the god of this world. Free those who are shackled by sin. Raise those who are dead to God. These mighty works only happen as the man of God is anointed with the power of God, and it is Satans' determination that God's man would fall
Church, let us earnestly pray together that our teaching Pastor is filled with the Spirit of God and endued with power from on high. It is our responsibility to stand beside him and hold up his hands, to labor together in prayer that the glory would descend and that there would be a divine anointing upon him as he preaches. Let us pray every week that he would have more and more of God's power upon him, and let us never stop praying until we gather with the heavenly throng around His glorious throne!

Passionate Worship

Well, I attempted this last Sunday Evening to convey the heart of my understanding as to why we do what we do. At least laying a foundation. The Sermon can be found here.
After reviewing it today I have a couple of thoughts. Primarily, I feel for the brethren who listened to that message and who are not as emotionally based as some of us are. I am afraid I might give the impression that one cannot be fully engaged in worship and it not be a fully visible experience to the rest of the saints. Well, I happen to know that is entirely possible, because I have experienced it myself. There are times when the communion is so deep and so sweet, that the only visible sign may be a tear or a bowed head.
Having said that, I do feel that a big problem in our churches is that we not only do not adequately prepare for corporate worship, but that same lack of preparation is there in our daily lives. We simply cannot fuly engage in worship of our God if our lives are filled with so many preoccupations. We must be a people who cast out our idols and gaze upon His glorious beauty, believe with all of our hearts, and worship Him with all of minds, our our hearts, all our strength and all our soul.

George Tiller's Death

I want to completely condemn the murder of Tiller the Killer. It was wrong. What amazes me is that many of those who claim to be pro-life and are speaking out against this murder were not as vocal in their condemnation of Tiller's infamous murders.

KILLER TILLER - HUFF AND PUFF POST - RANT!

Well, the old Huff and Puff Post is at it again. No shocker here either. Right away, they have identified the culprit in this case to be, you guessed it, religion! Even calling for the President to use our Armed Forces on the streets to defend the lives of Abortionists. Now, I completely and without reservation condemn the murder of George Tiller.
Several interesting points. The first of which is that Tiller was an usher in this Lutheran church. Now, must of us conservatives would immediately determine that the church is liberal. Must be, if they let this know killer of the unborn be an upstanding member in their church. Fine. The point is, I wonder if the liberal media will investigate this aspect. Will they give thought to this. Hmmm, this happened in a church. This church was fine with Tiller being a member. Even an usher who greeted people on the way in to their "religious services". Maaaaybe all religion is not bad? Nah, they won't give it a second thought. They'll leave their left-wing religious cronies to suffer and suck it up.
Also, we still don't know what Scott Roeder's motives were. Well now, we don't have to be naive aboiut it do we? He evidently stewed about this for quite some time and decided to take it into his own hands and kill this man. Also, he had a fish symbol on his car. Oh these crazy religious right people.
Oh, by the way. It is interesting that the Huff and Puff put this crime on par with the killing of thousands in our nation on 9-11 by Muslim terrorists. One thing they forget. The Muslim terrorists kill in order that they may go to "their" heaven and be rewarded for their killing. They kill innocent people. These home grown people who kill abortionists are motivated by the killing of the abortionists themselves. (The abortionists, in my estimation are not innocent people.) I cannot justify their killing of the abortionists. (I refuse to call them "Doctor".) They hope to receive no reward from this killing, but rather realize that they are probably going to pay a huge cost for their actions with no reward. They are deluded, but they are are not equal to the dangerous mindset of those who wish to wipe our nation off of the face of the earth. Oh, and by they way....the Muslim terrorists will start with those among us who they deem the most evil. The liberal left! How ironic.

KILLER TILLER

Well, Killer Tiller has met his match. He has become the victim of the death that he sent so many hundreds of thousands of innocent precious little babies to. His homicidal ways were clear verification of the total depravity of man, and that although all of us are not as bad as we could be, the depths of the depravity of man know no limits.
There is hardly a living human being in our side of the world as close to the likes of Hitler as this individual. There remains no more mercy. He is damned. It is impossible that this man could live as the serial murderer that he was without repentance and have any hope. He was not only an outspoken advocate of mass murder of innocent babies, but actually funded it, promoted it, and his hands were the instruments of the deaths of untold thousands.
I do not justify the murderous rage of the man who took his life. In fact, I condemn it without reservation. God has said. "Vengeance is mine. I will repay." The vengeance has barely begun. And God is just. I don't know that he has any family to pray for.
God is perfect in all of his ways. I have always wondered why he let this man live a long as he did. But then again, I have often wondered why He let me live.
God is a God of grace and justice. God had grace upon me and I don't know why.

Rockport Worship

Aaron is busy and was supposed to preach this Sunday in the evening service, so I guess I am going to go ahead and bring what I planned on bringing at a later date on the subject of worship at Rockport. Specifically, the "Rationale and Theology for our Worship Services and why Passionate Worship is Biblical". I started to go into why passionate worship is the only biblical way to worship, but for fear of being misunderstood, I am going to keep that portion to biblical models of passionate worship. I realize that everyone is different and everyone expresses themselves differently, so I don't want it to seem like I am trying to force anything on anyone. The joy of passionate worship is that we get to enjoy the Lord in our worship as children worshiping at the feet of their Father.
I have always been thrilled when my children play together in front of me. I could watch them for hours. They do it for their own enjoyment, yet I also enjoy it. There are many times when I have thought that I was the one enjoying it most. Even now, when my children are grown, I love watching them have fun together. It thrills me to no end to see them laughing with glee together at something. In particular as it relates to what is nearest to my heart, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. As they wonder at God's wonders and ways and thrill at the adventure of a life of faith, I get absolutely filled with joy.
Our Father is the same way. I am sure, if He could wonder, He would wonder, why His children don't seem more thrilled with the words they are singing about Him. Did He not make them the emotional creatures that they are?
Anyway, the theological basis for my thoughts are seriously interesting.

This Sunday AM we are going to be using:

Hallelujah! What A Savior! Hymn 175

Fountain of Grace

A Glorious Sacrifice - This is a song I wrote.

Jesus I Am Resting, Resting - we will do a new version of this great old Hymn

You Are My King (Amazing Love)

I Love You Lord (with extra verse by John Piper)



I am pretty pumped for next Sunday. It is our monthly dinner on the grounds Sunday. We call it Fellowship Sunday around here. But we eat at church after the services. We are going to be using all Southern Gospel Music for Worship. I am trying to eliminate from the list those songs that seem to be "gospel light." I have eliminated quite a few that I used to very willing to do. I'm going to be getting the banjo out for this one. Should be a great and fun day.

Continuous Worship

Nobody is worshiping nothing. We are all worshiping something all of the time. The question is who or what.

The Masses

I went to a MLB baseball game last night. Myriads of fans worshiping their god. Some, just enjoying a night out with the family. Most of the evening, at least percentage wise is spent simply observing the players preparing for the next play. I suppose percentage wise, it is the same with football, although, every play is sure to avail something, either pro or con.
It was sort of a melancholy evening. I appreciated the time out. (Our friends who took us, gave us tickets, with the expectation that we would give them the toy that was handed out that evening, which I did, rather grudgingly for some reason. An Albert Pujols statue of some sort.) At any rate, I enjoyed focusing on the professionalism of the players doing their thing. At the top of what they do to be sure.
I suppose I had several problems. For one thing, the amount of activity offered during the evening surely did not seem to deserve the millions of dollars these guys make. Oh, they are good. Too good in fact for my taste. I would rather see an old man playing softball attempt to slide into home, only to change his mind half-way through and actually barrel roll over the plate as the crowd gasps as if questioning the chances of his survival.
I looked at the crowds and thought about the world. I questioned how many of these people are going to spend eternity in hell. Most of them I suppose. What was there? Some 50,000? I felt like standing up and screaming. I wouldn't have been heard though. Most don't even hear when you preach to them while they are passing by you on the street. Most are simply oblivious. We aren't. But sometimes we act like we are.
Man, this world is going to hell. I can't believe I'm not. Wow. Amazing grace.