Last night I came cruising up my street and there it was, a prominently displayed ‘for sale’ sign in my front yard. Of course I knew this was coming, we have been planning for this for literally months now. However, upon seeing the sign I was a bit overwhelmed.
We are moving from what I consider my ideal home; open floor plan, parquet floors (cf Boston Garden), a nice backyard view, affordable mortgage, centrally located in Omaha, and easy access to the interstate. I really like this house. But at the same time God seems to be making it clear that we are to move so that we can move forward with a church plant some 25 miles south of us. So perhaps some of my emotion comes from an unbalanced earthly attachment to this structure, but I tend to doubt it; I have come to grips with the need to move.
Instead I think there are a couple of other factors at work here. One of which has been the recent push by so many within our church family to help get our house ready to sell. Now I should say that my handyman skills rival a blind camel; I have little to nothing to offer. This does not mean that I don’t work hard, it’s just the effectiveness and success that I have trouble with. As a result we have had a steady stream of people at our house over the last 60 days or so. These folks are doing everything from putting in a new front door, to installing lights, to cleaning windows, to plumbing, to landscaping, to painting, to cutting wood, and on the list goes. The fact of the matter is, I simply could not have done what needed to be done. People with far greater talent and skill are working hard to help us move and be better situated for ministry at the new campus.
To make matters better, so many folks want to talk about how great our Lord is. I love this. They come and work and brag about Christ’s greatness! Christie and I have been repeatedly floored by the effect of God’s grace in the life of so many people. God has been pleased to wed service with a Christ-centered joy that produces in us such sustained rejoicing.
This causes me to think about the effect of preaching and teaching the Word of God. To the extent that we truly serve one another to the glory of Christ we do so by the attendance of the Spirit of God to the Word of God in building up saints of God to serve, ultimately for the glory of God. When people serve it should motivate pastors and teachers to study harder, for God is doing something in these people’s lives.
I think the other emotional extreme is the reality that we are doing this (moving and planting a church). Of course I have not been in denial, but this helps things to become really tangible. I know that I never will know what it really is like to give birth (nor do I desire to) however, the countdown to the first Sunday does seem to parallel the various trimesters. One thing is sure, July 13th is coming fast and will be here before I know it.
The reason for this post is ultimately to brag on Christ. He is doing amazing things both in our lives and the lives of those around us. We are praying that we would truly think like missionaries and pursue the expansion of the gospel into this community. We know this is the right thing to do. At the same time, it is refreshing, convicting, motivating, and worship-provoking to be surrounded by so many who are yelling with their hands of service, prayers, and words of encouragement to work hard and fill that city with Christ’s teaching (Acts 5.28).
As glorious as the message of the gospel is many of us still have trouble with faithful and fervent proclamation of it. There are many explanations as to why each of us may struggle with being as faithful as we ought in this discipline; however, the scope of these posts is simply to offer ways in which to encourage more faithfulness in the area of personal evangelism.
What follows are biblical helps that aim to stimulate further evangelistic faithfulness in your life.I will cover a total of 10 over the next several days. There are a total of ten here but honestly we could look at fifty or sixty. Some are longer than others so we’ll break them up as needed.
So, here we go, 10 Reminders to help you become more faithful in personal evangelism…
Don’t forget the mandate
matt 28.18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We sometimes forget the context of this revolutionary decree. Jesus is not in the stocks or awaiting trial, instead he is the risen King of everything. His signet ring is glaring, almost blinding, as he gives this royal decree. He is alive from the dead, the victor over death, sin and Satan. When he says he has “all authority” he means it.
But notice what his authoritative command is to do. It is a call to invade the planet with the message of his accomplishments while declaring his own sovereign rule over everything and everyone.Notice what Jesus says, “make disciples of all nations”.The word translated nations is ethnos where we get our English word ‘ethnic’. This mandate, quite frankly, is a call to ignore apparent social, ethnic, cultural, or demographic barriers and proclaim that this risen Jesus is in fact the only sovereign King and that he must be worshipped exclusively. Jesus’ command for the reach of his gospel extends to every soul whom he has the right to declare obedience and worship from. Therefore we go.
And Jesus is not just pro-birth here but he is pro-life.He wants disciples; this is the main verb in the passage (the going is assumed…so, as you go…make disciples).That is followers, mature, growing Christians. The Great Commission is not all about the box score after folks go out and evangelize, but rather it is about bringing about the obedience of faith through the heralded word of truth. This posture of obedience starts by submitting to Christ as Lord at conversion and then proceeds to characterize the believer’s life. The evangelist must not only proclaim the message of the King but also work to teach these disciples “all that I have commanded you…”
This is a high calling that we cannot overemphasize. Jesus is the sovereign ruler, he commands obedient proclamation of his supremacy to all nations and peoples, and through this heralding of his greatness we are to be teaching his followers the statutes of the King.
As an added bit of encouragement or intimidation (take it however you need it), Jesus drops the omnipresence card on his followers: “and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This could either be indicting or encouraging.
If you are a mute Christian it stings your heart for you know that you have been silent while the King is even right there.
If you have been shaving off the pointy edges of the gospel this will also be a tough theological pill to swallow, for the King is there, even when you appear to be ashamed of those distasteful divine perfections (like holiness or judgment) and they are ignored.
If you have been faithful and you have encountered persecution, then this is truly comforting and further incentive to dig in and be faithful.
The King is in fact with us, even to the end of the age.
>we’ll keep this going in the days ahead. Tomorrow’s key is Don’t forget the Message.
With all of the video posts lately I kind of feel like the lazy parent who selfishly turns on the TV to babysit the kids. But these videos are great and I am incredibly busy at the moment. I aim to produce some new content soon, but c’mon, who is really complaining about John Piper anyway?
I love this video because Piper hits the heart of true salvation, supremely valuing, enjoying, treasuring Christ, above all things. This is in contrast to only using Jesus as some ‘ticket’ to get you out of hell or to bring about your best life now. Instead Christ is to be valued above all because he is above all; it is this that gives you life now that is truly abundant (John 10.10).
I received a link to this video the other day and was pretty moved. I guess it happened a year or so ago. The Hoyts compete in triathlons together. Let me remind you that this is 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.
I am not sure of their spiritual background or why this song is playing on the video, but nevertheless the video makes me think of this love that Mr Hoyt has for his son and the coming redemption of our sinfully plagued flesh. In short, this video reminded me to ‘groan’ in the Romans 8 sense.
So watch the video and be impressed with image bearers loving and serving one another.
I am thoroughly enjoying Spirit Empowered Preaching by Azurdia. This particular quote is helpful and instructive, especially if you are strolling into the pulpit this weekend.
Preachers ought never to approach the scriptures with a mere token consideration that suggests, ‘I’ve got a sermon idea in my mind and a creative outline from which to preach. All that remains to be found is a text to lend some credibility to my ideas.’ Instead, the burden of the preacher is to experience the power of the scriptures in his own life before he stands at the sacred desk. ‘The Word must become flesh again; the preacher must become the vehicle of the Holy Spirit, his mind inspired and his heart inflamed by the truth he preaches.’ It is this experience of truth that fires the motivation of the preacher. As he awakens on the Lord’s Day it is this that leads him to conclude, ‘This may be the most important message I have ever preached.’
Then he goes on to quote John Owen:
“It is not to learn the form of the doctrine of godliness, but to get the power of it implanted in our souls. And this is an eminent means of our making a progress in the knowledge of the truth. To seek after mere notions of truth, without an endeavor after an experience of its power in our hearts, is not the way to increase our understanding in spiritual things….Men may have in their study of the scripture other ends also, as the profit and edification of others; but if this conforming of their own souls unto the power of the word be not fixed in the first place in their minds, they do not strive lawfully nor will be crowned.”
May preachers never, ever, ever, loose the blessed sense of self-inadequacy that drives us to our knees in humble dependence for supernatural light into the text, a personal experience with that beloved truth, and then the blessed unction that unites the word with its power so as to explode in the hearts of those whom God has called.
This video is encouraging to me as a pastor and no doubt will be to many of you who pastor or otherwise love the Word. His conclusion is a walk-off shot:
“I think the reason why pastors don’t do that is because they themselves do not live off the Bible everyday.” (Piper)
It is somewhat amazing to consider what is happening within evangelicalism. On the one hand you have a section that seems to be obsessed with trying to ride each new wave that comes along in effort to gain relevance and popularity (church growth). On the other hand you have guys who want to go back to the old historic doctrines that have been trumpeted for centuries and equip the coming generation to likewise herald them (the new Calvinists).The church growth guys aim to be on the cutting edge of the 21st Century while the Calvinists are content to be on the cutting edge of the 16th Century. Each side seems to almost eschew the other for their respective strategies.The contemporary evangelical climate is as complex as it is interesting.
Enter Colin Hansen, an editor for Christianity Today. Colin wrote an article back in 2006 entitled Young, Restless, Reformed. His goal was to highlight the surging phenomon of the regeneration of Calvinistic theology. He has expanded this article and turned it into a book by the same title.
Hansen discloses in the introduction that the premise behind the book stems from his initial reluctance to see the emerging movement as the next wave in evangelicalism. Instead, says, Hansen, “in my limited sphere I saw a return to traditional Reformed theology. My friends read John Piper’s book Desiring God and learned from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology.” So Hansen set out on a journey to see if his experiences were “unique or a sign of something bigger.” And off he goes with a journey with the new Calvinists.
In each of the chapters Hansen is on sight interviewing key leaders and players within this Reformed resurgence.He is at the Passion Conference in Atlanta talking to attendees, at John Piper’s church in Minnesota, YaleUniversity, The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville (Al Mohler), CovenantLifeChurch in Maryland (CJ Mahaney & Josh Harris), The New Attitude Conference in Louisville, and MarsHillChurch in Seattle (Mark Driscoll).
The interviews were enjoyable.At each turn Hansen helpfully interacts with what we are learning about this movement.He helps give personal background about each person he talks with and also discloses some personal nuggets that keep you on your toes (for example, John Piper eats a bowl of cereal after preaching every Saturday night).
As a non-Southern Baptist, one of the more interesting chapters to me was the discussion in chapter four on the effect of Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention. I knew it was a heated issue, but since I don’t live in that world, I was surprised to see quotes by guys who seem to bundle Calvinism with the death of the church. Hansen interviews seminary student and blogger Timmy Brister who seems to have been branded with a Scarlet letter for his stand for Reformed theology in some of the churches where he served. In reading some of the statements by SBC leaders I was left with the impression that they were less open to change (or even discussing it–even if it is biblical) and are instead quite concerned with clinging to tradition (whether or not it is biblical). This view into SBC life was illuminating.
Overall the book was a quick and enjoyable read. Hansen gives Piper a lot of love, and I think he should. However, I would have liked to see a little more time given to Sproul, MacArthur, Carson or even guys who came before like John Murray. In addition, I am left wondering where Hansen thinks this is going. Perhaps this is out of the scope of the work, but I would have liked him to steer the ship in that direction a bit.
I really enjoyed the read. I felt like I was watching (reading) a documentary that included many of my close friends. This kinship no doubt is the effect of faithful preaching and teaching by these men who serve so many of us.
You may pick up discounted copies are available at Westminster or Amazon.
Our minds are rarely in neutral. There are 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week and over 700 hours in a month.With the exception of when we are sleeping our minds are usually clicking. We are thinking, planning, remembering, among other things.But what are we thinking about? What is being hatched in your mind?What is passing through your mind? What are you dwelling upon?
Our computers employ a helpful tracking device to enable us to better interact with websites.Many of us are familiar with ‘cookies’.For those who are not, cookies are:
“parcels of text sent by a server to a web browser and then sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server. HTTP cookies are used for authenticating, tracking, and maintaining specific information about users, such as site preferences or the contents of their electronic shopping carts.” (wikipedia)
If I open up my folder of web cookies I can see that spend a lot of time on this site, Amazon.com, Westminster Books, Boston.com (New England Sports), ESV.org, among others.This is helpful for me to catalog online trends and patterns.
However, what do my spiritual cookies look like?How shocked would I be to open up the file of my mind, which I share with God himself, and examine what I think about?
Who is the hero of my meditations? Who’s glory do I aim for? How much time is spent in prayer? How many times do I return to site of God’s simultaneous explosion of holiness, righteousness and love?I am speaking of the tear drenched soil of Calvary.
We can learn a lot about ourselves when we inspect this file in our minds. We know of our priorities.We learn of our view of sovereignty, for if we do not pray then we do not believe he is sovereign (we think we are). We learn of true contrition, for it is demonstrated by a bemoaning of sin and a delight in Christ. We learn of our love or disdain for the word; for if we love it then it will be racing across our minds like a CNN ticker.We learn of our love for others as we either pray for or neglect them. We learn of our true anticipation of heaven, for we long for what we love.We learn of our thankfulness or our pride, in the presence or absence of thankfulness in prayer. And on this list could go.
I invite you today to be intentional about your thoughts. If you have truly been raised up with Christ then your thoughts should be arrested and affixed to Christ:
Colossians 3:1-4 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Time is ticking, you and I have less time to make much of Christ then we did yesterday. Let’s arrest our thoughts (2 Cor. 10.5-6) and affix them upon that which is today and forever will be infinitely glorious.
Paul Verhoeven, the director of “Basic Instinct”, “Total Recall” and RoboCop” is set to release a documentary that asserts that Jesus was not conceived via the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary but instead that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier.In addition, he aims to show that Judas did not betray Jesus, as the Scriptures clearly say.The title of the film is “Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait”.
This is just more of the same speculative rubbish that tends to resurface every couple of years.People take their theories, marry them to their fantasies and then expect us to agree. This simply becomes another case of professing to be wise and instead becoming fools, exchanging the glory of God for the glory of man (Rom 1.22-23).
As much as this is perverted (and it is) it is also an occasion to be encouraged. I say this on two accounts.
First, this is nothing new, people having been saying things about Jesus and his birth far before Verhoeven or even the early centuries after his death and resurrection. Remember the Jews who did not like Jesus’ preaching in John 8? They went after Jesus by going after Mary:
John 8:41 They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.”
The sure Scripture answers objections clearly.At the end of the day folks are relying on their own speculation and doubt to anchor their theology. Christians are far too untrusting of their personal evaluations of truth. Instead we submit to what God has in fact said.
Secondly, it is encouraging to me because if it were not for the grace of God in my own life, I too would be making movies trying to free my conscience from its cries of accountability to this Holy God who made and knows me.If not the movie business, I would think of other ways to invent evil as Romans 1 says. It was the sovereign, powerful, sufficient, pride smashing, arresting grace of God that intruded upon me and caused me to love, value, and believe this glorious Jesus. So in light of this movie, I rejoice in divine grace.
On another note, of all the stupid heresies to pick this guy decides to pick the one that talks about Jesus’ earthly mother. Most guys get pretty defensive when you talk about their mom. Andof all of the tough guys that I have ever met Jesus is clearly the toughest and most vengeful. I cannot imagine the payload of retribution that will be dealt to this guy if he does not repent and submit to Christ as Lord. Believers should pray to that end.
This movie will come and go and then another will come in its place and the same for its director.No doubt the goal of such things is to cause believers to more deeply value and enjoy the glorious grace of God that has brought us to him through the precious blood of his own son (1 Pet. 3.18).
May 15, 2008 
Posted in Irish Calvinist 
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