We all know of the "Great Commission" but I fear we have far to many people believing that it is for everyone else to do, we think, "Well that's not my calling." NO. It's everyone's calling, you just have to read the Bible. http://www.openbible.info/topics/making_disciples. I understand that not everyone is supposed to go overseas as missionaries, but we can't deny the fact that you are called to make disciples no matter where you are.
We can't be spectator Christians in this country anymore. But it's not about napkin evangelism either. making disciples is more than just having others pray a prayer, it is about teaching, growing, and instructing them in faith with Christ. There's too much at stake to be more proud about our reputation over Christ's.
When we are humble enough to place Christ where he should be in our lives then what we previously thought was important seems to fade away.
”But whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find a way to say it and live for it and die for it. And…. you will not waste your life.” – John Piper
Listening to John Piper's sermon the other day on John 9. He hit on a topic that I think is very important to think about. The context is Jesus coming upon a blind man and healing him on the Sabbath. He is brought into the temple and questioned by the pharisees as they try to label Christ a sinner for healing on the Sabbath as well as kneading dough (or mud in this case).
Piper asks the question, "why would He (Jesus) want to do that (use mud to heal)?" and part of his answer is that, "He wants to show that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, or to show what the point of the Sabbath is. Rest... Healing... What else would you do on the Sabbath but make eyes see." I love the end of that quote but that is still the context of the part of the story that I want to point out.
As the blind beggar is questioned, for a second time in this instance, he says in response to the pharisees calling Jesus a sinner in John 9:25
He answered, "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
This is amazing because as Piper points out this man has been blind since birth he has had no education his whole life needs to know only this, "Though I was blind, now I see." The pharisees are the most educated people in Israel and they are so blind compared to this man.
The next thing we see though is that the blind man is kicked out of the temple for later claiming Jesus as being from God, and this is huge because as Piper points out this kicking out of the temple was a kicking out of Judaism, this was life to this man.
The best part about this story is that even in the man's persecution for the name of Christ we see in John 9:35 that Jesus heard about this and sought out this man. Think about it, when we have no where else to turn, we need not turn anywhere, for Jesus seeks us out and finds us.
We have only to come into this world with the knowledge that "Though I was blind, now I see!"
Well I said that I would give a full review of the book "Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World" By C.J. Mahaney, and company, and here it is. The focus of this book In the first chapter to the last chapter is on the cross and the heart of your decisions.
The first chapter is called "Is this verse in your Bible?" and is all about 1 John 2:15 which says "Do not love the world or the things in the world..." C.J. Explains that this is a verse that we like to mentally or even physically at least cut out of our Bible. We are afraid of the effect this verse will have on our lives so we avoid it or change its meaning. C.J. makes the comment that "the greatest challenge facing American evangelicals is not persecution from the world, but seduction by the world." C.J. defines worldliness not as the earthy world because created it and it was good. Rather C.J. says
Worldliness, then, is a love for this fallen world. It's loving the values and pursuits of the world that stand opposed to God. More specifically , it is to gratify and exalt oneself to the exclusion of God. It rejects God's rules and replaces it with our own (like creating our own Bibles). It exalts our opinions above God's truth. It elevates our sinful desires for the things of this fallen world above God's commands and promises.
C.J. would say that worldliness isn't ultimately in the world but in our hearts. Our desires are what makes a good gift from God a worldly idol. He makes clear that the point of this book is not to be legalistic or allow you to ignore 1 John 2:15, but rather to bring the matter off the surface and get to the heart of the matter.
Chapter 2, by Craig Cabaniss, is all about media and its effects on our lives. "As followers of Christ, we cannot afford to take lightly the media's pervasive presence in our lives" -Craig Cabaniss. Craig comes at you, on this subject, straight to the heart. Why are you watching that? Is there a point to your watching or are you just watching? Craig wants us to be discerning in what we willing put in our minds. A point he makes which I find is very interesting and helpful is, as he describes it, living coram deo. Which means living "before the face of God." He doesn't say that we should all get rid of our TV's or laptops but that we watch discerningly with gratitude to God for creativity, beauty, and laughter. Craig points out that if we are more discerning in what we watch and where we go on the internet then we will have so much more time to spend in fellowship and community with others. As he puts it "there's a world of things to do with the TV turned off."
Chapter 3, by Bob Kauflin, is all about the music we listen too and subject ourselves too. Bob doesn't say that there is only one style off music that we should listen too because not one style can capture who God is. But he does stress the importance of being discerning with what we listen to. He says, "listening to music without discernment and godly intent reveals a heart willing to flirt with the world... If we're concerned about the seductive effect worldly lyrics can have on our souls, we won't be racing close to the edge of sin, seeing how much we can take in before it finally starts affecting us."
Chapter 4, by Dave Harvey, is about the stuff in our lives. The Bible tells us that we are not to covet which means desiring stuff too much or desiring too much stuff. Materialism pervades every heart, according to Dave, whether it is obvious or not. "covetousness chains the hearts to things that are passing away" -Dave Harvey. There are four chains that Dave goes into in depth. first is stuff makes me happy, then it is stuff makes me important, thirdly our stuff makes us secure, and finally stuff makes me rich. But Dave makes the point that when we die we will stand before God with nothing. We need to measure our riches with what Christ did on Calvary.
Chapter 5, by C.J. Mahaney, is about our clothes. This chapter is directed mainly at women, but C.J. again is not looking to put boundaries on the surface but rather looks to the heart of the matter. He says, "Any Biblical discussion about modesty begins by addressing the heart, not the hemline." C.J. defines immodesty as an act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It's pride, on display by what you wear. And thus, modesty is humility in how you dress. He asks a very good question, in my opinion, to the women of the church. Are your role models the godly women of Scripture, or the worldly women of our culture. C.J. also gives words to the fathers of women saying that an immodestly dressed woman means usually the father has failed to lead, care for, and protect her. C.J. in this chapter is trying to protect the men as well as the women and asks women to think of their brothers in Christ before the dress.
The final chapter, by Jeff Purswell, totally changes focus and rather than how to avoid being worldly he goes into how we are to love the world. Jeff starts by helping lay down a biblical worldview for living in the world and walks through creation, the fall, redemption, and consummation. Jeff then gives us three tasks of how we are to love the world. The first is to enjoy the world and going along with the theme of the whole book explains that "worldliness is not a matter of matter, but of the heart. the "world" we are forbidden to love (1 John 2:15) is not the earthy creation but the rebellious, independent, God-rejecting, mindset of those who inhabit this creation." Second, we are to engage the world. God placed man in the garden to work and keep it (Gen. 2:15). Jeff explains that a biblical worldview "gives us new eyes to see all of life: every sphere is charged with potential, every activity providing an opportunity to serve God, encounter God, obey God, enjoy God, testify to God, and bring glory to God." Finally, Jeff calls us to evangelize the world. "A biblical worldview can transform evangelism from a neglected Christian duty or mark of elite spirituality to an exhilarating privilege for every believer." Jeff ends the book by showing us the cross and how it defines us and the way we are to live in this world.
In my opinion this was a great book that is almost all practical while giving hundreds of scripture which helps to show how we are to avoid worldliness. I totally recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat.
So, lately I have been going on walks around 10pm or 11pm, just when its dark. I love being alone thinking about God's glory and holiness. His creation just looks so different at night. It's a different kind of beauty. and I thought about how the night is a picture of the gospel. Think about it. Night is when we rest, we await the coming of the light of the morning, the light of the "son."
An even sweeter picture I thought of was how there is so much darkness in the night yet there are stars that shine God's glory into the darkness, we are these stars, we proclaim the glory of God through the darkness of this world. There are nights where it feels as if there are very few stars or no stars at all. In the same way I think we can feel as if it is us against the world, yet we have hope that there are millions of stars out there with us awaiting the coming of Christ. As the coming of the dawn, the glory of the Son is so great that the small fraction of that glory we were trying to reflect is completely swallowed up in His majesty. And its the dawn that we are so looking forward to. Darkness to be totally blotted out and His glory to fill our very being.
ISAIAH 6:1-3
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
I recently heard a sermon on Daniel 3 by Oral Roberts. It is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego but more importantly Rev. Roberts emphasizes the fourth man in the furnace and then proceeds to show who he is in every book of the Bible which shows that indeed everywhere in the Bible points to Jesus and I thought this was really cool.
In Genesis He is the Seed of the Woman.
In Exodus He is the Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus He is our High Priest.
In Numbers He is the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night.
In Deuteronomy He is the Prophet like unto Moses.
about In Joshua He is the Captain of our Salvation.
In Judges He is our Judge and Lawgiver.
In Ruth He is our Kinsman Redeemer.
In I and II Samuel He is our Trusted Prophet.
In Kings and Chronicles He is our Reigning King.
In Ezra He is our Faithful Scribe.
In Nehemiah He is the Rebuilder of the Broken Down Walls of our human life.
In Esther He is our Mordecai.
In Job He is our Dayspring from on high and our Ever-Living Redemmer.
In Psalms He is the Lord our Shepard.
In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes He is our Wisdom.
In the Song of Solomon He is our Lover and the Bridegroom.
In Isaiah He is the Prince of Peace.
In Jeremiah He is the Righteous Branch.
In Lamentations He is the Weeping Prophet.
In Ezekiel He is the Wonderful Four-Faced Man.
In Daniel He is the Fourth Man in the burning fiery furnace.
In Hosea He is the Faithful Husband, forever married to the backslider.
In Joel He is the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost and Fire.
In Amos He is our Burden-Bearer.
In Obadiah He is the Mighty to Save.
In Jonah He is our Great Foreign Missionary.
In Micah He is the Messenger of Beautiful Feet, of carrying the Gospel.
In Nahum He is the Avenger of God's Elect.
In Habakkuk He is God's Evangelist, crying, "Revive thy work in the midst of the years."
In Zephaniah He is the Savior.
In Haggai He is the Restorer of God's Lost Heritage.
In Zechariah He is the Fountain Opened in the House of David for sin and uncleanness.
And in Malachi He is the Sun of Righteousness, rising with healing in His wings.
In Matthew He is the Messiah.
In Mark He is the Wonder-worker.
In Luke He is the Son of Man.
In John He is the son of God.
In Acts He is the Holy spirit.
In Romans He is our Justifier.
In Corinthians He is the Gifs of the Spirit.
In Galatians He is the Redeemer from the curse of the law.
In Ephesians He is the Christ on Unreachable Riches.
In Philippians He is the God Who Supplies All Our Needs.
In Colossians He is the Godhead Bodily.
In ! and II Thessalonians He is our Soon-coming King.
In I and II Timothy He is our Mediator between God and Man.
In Titus He is our Faithful Pastor.
In Philemon He is a Friend that Sticketh Closer that a Brother.
In Hebrews He is the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant.
In James He is the Great Physician.
In I an II Peter He is the Chief Shepard who soon shall appear with a crown of unfading glory.
In I, II, and III John He is Everlasting Love.
In Jude He is the Lord Coming with Ten Thousands of his Saints.
And in revelation He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
As I have continued reading through, thinking, and chewing on the book "Worldliness" edited by C.J. Mahaney I have found a story that the author, Dave Harvey, points out is a story about what can happen if we are "set free from the chains of covetousness and materialism." I think that this is totally relevant to world we are living in today if not more so important in the world we are living in today.
January 5, 1976, was a day that neither I nor my wife will soon forget. It was the dead of winter in Dallas, Texas, and as the sun set the temperature plummeted to well below the freezing mark. I was in my third year of seminary studies and was up late reading.
"Fire!" The word rang out on that cold night with frightening urgency, bringing me out of my chair and into the parking lot of our apartment complex. There it was. Only three doors away a fire was raging.
My first reaction was to awaken Ann and get her to safety. By the time she had escaped and we had moved our car away from danger, the fire department arrived and cordoned off the entire complex. In doing so they shattered any hope I had of rushing back inside to save something of our possessions.
It was there in the parking lot at 11:00 p.m., in sub-freezing cold, that I learned an important lesson about myself. The flames did more than simply light up the cold Texas sky. They shone ablaze in my heart as well, dispelling the darkness of sin's deceit. While mournfully contemplating what would surely be the loss of all earthly possessions, it suddenly struck me how attached I had become to material things. My sinful dependence on earthly goods was exposed as I envisioned a future without clothes, without furniture, and worst of all, without theology books. I was shamed by the painful realization that my happiness was so closely tied up with what I owned.
