Hearing God’s Heart at Christmas

So much can be said about the wonder that Christmas should be, and the tragedy of what it has been made.

For those who love Christ, it is enough to meditate on what is in God’s heart at Christmas time, and through this to hear His still small voice.

My Son “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:7-8)

He has done this for you; what have you done for Him?"

Does your heart beat with his heart this Christmas?

Are you pursuing in your life the things He was born and bled to obtain?

There is nothing that we should want more in life than the reward of His incarnation, His humiliation and His suffering.

Make War!

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9)  We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (Rom 6:6) Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own". (1 Cor 6:19)

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Cor 10:13) In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Heb 12:4) For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Heb 2:18) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (James 4:7-8) Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. (Luke 13:24) Destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. (2 Cor 10:5) Discipline your body and keep it under control. (1 Cor 9:27) Press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:14) For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (1 Tim 4:10)
  
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:1-2)

“Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” (John Owen)

Surveying the Separation of Sheep

The internet has made it too easy for anyone with a computer to publish just about anything and claim that it is fact. In addition, the exponential effect of more convenience combined with many more “truth-claims” has made us lazy. Combining these trends creates the potential for the body of Christ to be easily deceived.

Adding to this problem, our culture unfortunately makes it hard to get at the truth. The idea of “tolerance” has been twisted to the point where nobody can challenge anything that anyone says (culture says there is no absolute truth, and everything is relative). This is the breeding ground for today’s “pluralism”, which says that it does not matter what you believe.

One of the effects of this is that churches have buckled under the social pressure to be “inclusive” and so have avoided teaching hard things. These churches focus instead on being “seeker-sensitive” and tailor their messages to meet people’s “felt needs” instead of teaching the Bible. As a result doctrines that are not “soft” like Predestination, Perseverance and many others are often neglected.

There is a biblical obligation for us to avoid being deceived which underscores the fact that it does matter what you believe. 1 Timothy 4:16 says “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers”. 2 Peter 3:18 exhorts us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”.

We should always be driven by what Scripture says, and not by our own fallible minds and emotions. Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things…” If at any time, our thoughts and feeling seems to contradict what Scripture says, we should reject our thoughts and feelings. As we grow in spiritual maturity, and are exposed to deeper insights into things in Scripture which we may not have been aware of before, and we may then be tempted to compare what we think and feel to what the Bible says. The deep rooted pride in all of us may not want to yield to biblical truth that exalts God and gives Him the due credit for things that the flesh would prefer to take credit for.

Although Predestination and Perseverance are not essential to believe for salvation, they are still important. God has given us His Word, so that we may know Him and understand His plan of redemption. He is glorified when we study His Word and understand what He has done for us. We come to know Him more intimately when we do, which leads to deeper worship. Denying anything which is clearly taught in the Bible is an act of disobedience. If we love Him we should not want to be purposefully disobedient.

We should never evaluate God or His works as if He is like us. In fact, many people struggle to accept hard teachings like Predestination and Perseverance for this reason. God has revealed enough about these issues to make it clear that they are biblical. As humble fallen creatures, we must strive to acknowledge and embrace what God has revealed, and accept that we cannot understand His ways perfectly. John 8:23 says “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. John 18:36 says “My kingdom is not of this world.” Isaiah 55:8-9 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The fact that something does not make perfect sense to us does not make it untrue if it is clearly taught in scripture.

Here are six observations extracted from an exposition by John Piper on John 10:15-16…

1. Jesus Calls Himself a Shepherd

Verse 11: "I am the good shepherd." Verse 14: "I am the good shepherd." Jesus is probably thinking of himself here as the fulfillment of Ezekiel 34:22–24 where God says about his people Israel, I will save my flock, they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them: I, the Lord, have spoken.

The flock of God is the people of Israel. God promises to put his servant David over them to be their shepherd. And he speaks of having to judge between sheep and sheep.

This leads to the second observation, namely, that in John 10 . . .

2. Some Sheep Are Christ's and Some Are Not

Verses 3b–4: "He calls HIS OWN sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them." Verse 14: "I am the good shepherd; I know MY OWN and MY OWN know me."

In other words, not all the people in the flock of Israel truly belonged to Christ. Some were his sheep. Some weren't.

The reason some belonged to Jesus so that he could call them HIS OWN is that . . .

3. The Father Had Given Them to the Son

Verse 29: “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

This is Jesus' way of talking about election. God has chosen a people for his own. These are his elect sheep. He then gives them to his Son so that they can be saved by faith in him. You can see this clearly in John 17:6 where Jesus says to his Father, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”

So Jesus can speak with confidence about some sheep among the flock of Israel that are definitely his, because they first belonged to the Father by election and then were given to the Son by the Father—"Yours they were, and you hast given them to me." (See John 6:37, 6:39, 6:44, 6:65; 17:9, 17:24; 18:9.)

Therefore, knowing those who are his,

4. Jesus Calls Them by Name and They Follow

Verses 3b–4: “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” Verse 27: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

He separates sheep from sheep, as Ezekiel said, by calling his own by name. When he calls, his sheep recognize his voice and they follow him, and he gathers them into a new flock, namely, the church, the true Israel of God.

Be sure you see the thrust of these verses: being one of Christ's sheep enables you to respond to his call. It is not the other way around: responding to his call does not make you one of his sheep. That is the offensive thing about this chapter. It strips the unbeliever of the presumption that the final determination of his life lies in his own power. Notice verse 26: "You do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep."

Picture yourself as a Pharisee hearing the message of Jesus and saying to yourself, "If he thinks I am going to be sucked in to this movement along with the tax collectors and sinners, he's crazy. I have a will of my own and the power to determine my own destiny." And then picture Jesus, knowing what is in your heart, saying, "You think you are in control of your life. Truly, truly I say to you, you do not believe because the Father has not chosen you to be among my sheep." The final boast of unbelief is destroyed by the doctrine of election. Those whom God chose he also gave to the Son, and those whom he gave to the Son the Son also called, and his sheep hear his voice and they believe.

But that is not all that Jesus does for his sheep.

5. The Good Shepherd Also Lays Down His Life for His Sheep

Verse 11: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Verses 14–15: "I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep."

In other words those whom the Father chose, he also gave to the Son; and those whom he gave to the Son, the Son also called; and those whom he called, he also justified by laying down his life for the sheep.

And on the basis of this sacrifice . . .

6. Jesus Gives Eternal Life to His Sheep and It Can Never Be Taken Away

Verses 27–30: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

In other words those whom the Father chose for himself he also gave to the Son, and those whom he gave to the Son the Son also called, and for those he called he also laid down his life, and to those for whom he died he gave eternal life, and it can never be taken away.

The picture we have in John 10 is of a great shepherd who sovereignly saves his sheep. The Father gives them to him. He dies for them. He calls them by name. He gives them eternal life. And he keeps them forever.

You've Never Felt More Alive

Ever visited a place so beautiful that you were in awe? The Island of Bora Bora in Tahiti does that. It’s devastating when you find out that you can’t live there unless you were born there.

If you’ve ever found yourself speechless at the beauty of creation, you’ve experienced an amazing aspect of the capacity for worship which God placed in every person.

It is because of our fallen nature that only the most magnificent things in creation manage to break through and touch us in that way. We should experience that awe in even the smallest things we see in creation because everything was designed to do that.

We may be partly deaf, but all of creation screams God’s glory! God’s eternal power and divine nature are clear in the things which He created ever since the creation of the world (Romans 1:20), the heavens declare His glory (Psalm 19:1 & 8:1) and specifically the gospel has been proclaimed in all creation (Col 1:23). Even in the New Jerusalem, the glory of God is the light and the Lamb (Jesus) is the lamp (Rev 21:23). That is awesome!

There is something God put inside the heart of man (Eccl 3:11) that leads us to discover a strange and counter-cultural reality. We experience the greatest sense of fulfilment when we encounter something so amazing that it makes us feel insignificant. Our world says we find this in ourselves, but the very design of our being in those moments when we are in awe of something far greater than we are shows us this is not true.

When we lose ourselves we find ourselves, and God designed you to lose yourself in Him, and in His wondrous plan of redemption. God’s ultimate purpose for all of creation is His own glory, and God is most glorified in you when you are lost within His love, displayed in the giving of His precious Son for you.

Before the foundation of the world, before you were born or took your first breath, the Father chose to give to His Son a bride - to love the Son forever, to serve the Son forever, to praise the Son forever, to glorify the Son forever. His bride would be a redeemed humanity who will fill eternal heavens with praise and honour as they gather around the throne of God crying out forever and ever, "Worthy is the Lamb." (Rev 4&5)

Redemptive history ends when the last name is redeemed and the Father will have gathered and presented the bride to His Son and everything will be in subjection to Him. When everything is done, and all the redeemed are gathered and the Father has given the Son His bride, the Son in an act of reciprocal love gives the bride and Himself back to the Father so that God is all in all. (1 Cor 15:28)

We are saved, because we are caught up in a glorious divine expression of love between the Father and the Son that is way beyond us. The price for His bride was His own blood. We were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ like a lamb spotless and unblemished.

Lose yourself now, as you meditate on Jesus, your Saviour. His sweetness is without measure. His mercy in saving you is without bounds. He is the radiance of the glory of God… (Heb 1:3)

To Die Is Gain

Treasuring anything in your life above Christ is a tragedy!



http://cdn.desiringgod.org/pdf/books_dwyl/dwyl_full.pdf

Do You Pisteuō?



This sounds like something you don’t write about in a Christian blog. But you can relax. This page is not going to get flagged by your accountability program!

Pisteuō (πιστεύω) is the greek word which in most English translations of the Bible is given as “believe”. It occurs about 250 times in the New Testament. For example John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

So what?

Here’s why you should care: According to many sources the number of Christians in the world is over 2 billion which represents the majority of people, and yet according to Scripture there won’t be “many” who as John 3:16 puts it “don’t perish”: “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Mat 7:14) That means many of those 2 billion people are deluded, and will realise they were not Christians when it’s too late! Put another way, many people who would call themselves Christians are not really “believing”.  

Kinds of Believing

There are kinds of believing that do not save! Like the many” mentioned in John 2 verses 23 & 24 who “believed in [Jesus’] name when they saw the signs that he was doing but Jesus did not entrust (or believe - pisteuō is the word used here) himself to them,…”

Interesting that word “many”. In the verse before Matthew 7:14 quoted above, it says there are many who try to enter through an easy way (instead of the hard way), and that way leads to destruction.

Scripture tells Christians to test themselves to be sure they are believing: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.” (2 Cor 13:5) From a human perspective that sounds weird! Flesh wants to say “surely if I believe something, I would know whether I believe?” Therein lies the problem. Salvation is a miracle! Being “born of God”, receiving Christ, believing in Jesus are by grace alone through faith alone.  You don’t save yourself. Saying you are a Christian, because you say so is nonsense and theologically implies you have saved yourself. Tragically, that is exactly what is behind the professions of many of the 2 billion professing Christians.

Pisteuō

So pisteuō is an important word to understand. Pronounced as pist-yoo'-o, it means to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing). That is by implication to entrust: - believe, commit (to trust), put trust in.

The word is derived from another greek word, pistis (πίστις - pronounced pis'-tis) which means  persuasion, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; with constancy in such profession.

John 3:16 is a wonderful verse for those who love Christ, but like anything in Scripture it can get twisted. Many people who know John 3:16, would say they do believe in Jesus like it says. But the kind of "believe" they mean may be the wrong kind. It's more like the kind you mean when you say "I don't believe in Santa". This is an intellectual assent to a fact, without any evidence in their lives of the commitment that follows if you really believe. If you overlay the above definitions of pisteuō onto John 3:16, the kind of believing implied is one in which “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever relies upon Christ for salvation and commits to him should not perish but have eternal life.

Saying it that way makes it a little harder for people to say “sure I believe in Jesus!” Even demons do that! (James 2:19)

The amazing story of the French tightrope walker, Charles Blondin, crossing Niagara Falls is a great illustration of what true faith is.
In June of 1859 he attempted to become the first person to cross a tightrope stretched over a quarter of a mile across the mighty Niagara Falls.

He walked across 160 feet above falls several times, each time with a different daring feat - once in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, in the dark, and once he even carried a stove and cooked an omelet! On one occasion though, he asked for the participation of a volunteer. A large crowd gathered and a buzz of excitement ran along both sides of the river bank. The crowd “Oooohed!” and “Aaaaahed!” as Blondin carefully walked across one dangerous step after another -- blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow.

Upon reaching the other side, the crowd's applause was louder than the roar of the falls! Blondin suddenly stopped and addressed his audience: "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?"The crowd enthusiastically shouted, "Yes, yes, yes. You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. You can do anything!"

"Okay," said Blondin, "Get in the wheelbarrow....."

No-one did!

The story of Charles Blondin paints a real life picture of what faith actually is. The crowd had watched his daring feats. They said they believed, but their actions proved they truly didn't.  James Chapter 1 captures this nicely: “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

It's one thing for us to say we believe in God. It's true faith though when we believe God and put our faith and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Church Health-Check

Every now and then, you take your body down to the doctors office to make sure there is still a pulse! The Body of Christ is no different.

Whether you're a Pastor, Elder, or just one of the flock, Christ calls us to serve eachother in love and in truth, so be constantly discerning about where your church is at, and where you are at in it, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 

Satans spends much of his time in church, trying to distract, deceive and distort. Know he is there.

"To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints..." (Eph 6:18)

Mark Dever, who was down-under last year, gives a clear description of the vital signs to check...




Why These Nine Marks? from 9Marks on Vimeo.

Responding to "Fun"

Ever had someone say to you: “don’t be so serious!”?

Too many have believed the worldly post-modern lie that what is convenient, easy, and “fun” is always good…

"The kind of religion that God requires, and will accept, does not consist in weak, dull  and lifeless “wouldings” – those weak inclinations that lack convictions – that raise us but a little above indifference. God, in His word, greatly insists that we be in good earnest, fervent in spirit, and that our hearts be engaged vigorously in our religion:

“Be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11)."

- Jonathan Edwards, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (1746)

According to http://thesaurus.com/browse/fervent

Main Entry:       fervent/fervid

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition:          enthusiastic, excited

Synonyms:       animated, ardent, blazing, burning, devout, dying to, eager, earnest, ecstatic, emotional, enthused, falling all over oneself, fiery, glowing, go great guns, heartfelt, hearty, hot*, hot-blooded, impassioned, intense, passionate, perfervid, pious, religious, responsive, serious, sincere, unfeigned, vehement, warm, warmhearted, wholehearted, zealous

So be serious about your God!

Intensity in Prayer

This dull flesh, in its worldly leanings, needs the Lord's constant grace. This is especially true in prayer, when we are before the throne of God. It is then that the knowledge of His holiness and majesty should light a blazing fire of passionate surrender within us and obliterate anything which is not focussed solely on our communion with Him. But, sadly this is often not the case to our great shame.

As little children, prone to wanderings and weakness, sometimes we need some help remembering Who we are talking to. Something from Desiring God:

Whatever it takes, Lord, give me...

Delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart.

Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Desire to know you, be with you, and seek your kingdom above all else.
        

Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Discernment that comes from a renewed mind that I might know your will.

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

Desperation because when I stop feeling my need for you I tend to wander.

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. (Psalm 119:67)

Discipline to plan for what I discern as your will.
    

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Diligence to do your will with all my heart.
        

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

How to Hate Your Sin

#1:

Strive to know God, and to be affected with his attributes. You can’t know what sin is until you know who God is. Nothing in the world will tell you so plainly and powerfully how evil sin is, as the knowledge of the greatness, wisdom, goodness, holiness, authority, justice, and truth of God.

#2:

Love Christ, and you will hate your sin that caused his death. Love him, and you will love to be made like Him, and hate what is so contrary to Christ.

#3:

Think how awesome the work of God’s Spirit is, and how great a mercy it is to you. Then ask yourself if you should keep your darkness and defilement, in opposition to such wonderful mercy?

#4:

Consider the wonderful love and mercy of God, and think what He has done for you, and you will hate sin, and be ashamed of it. Satan tries to hide both the love of God and your sin from you to destroy your repentance.

#5:

Think what your soul is made for, and should be used for - to love, obey, and glorify your Maker. Then you will see that sin disables and perverts it. Should you serve the

devil in filthiness and foolishness, when you should receive, and serve, and magnify your Creator?

#6:

Think what pure and sweet delights your soul may enjoy from God and then you will see that sin robs you of these delights, and prefers fleshly lusts

#7:

Think what a life you will live for ever in heaven and then realise that sin keeps people from it - it is a vile and hateful thing.

#8:

Look at the state and torment of the damned. Remember that every temptation is from

the devil, to make you like himself. Remember when you sin, that you are learning from and imitating the devil.

#9:

Look at sin as if you are ready to die, and consider how all people see sin after they die.

#10:

Look at sin and judgment together. Remember that sinners must answer for it before God, and angels, and the whole world.

#11:

Think about sickness, poverty, shame, despair, death, and rottenness in the grave, and it may help you a little to know what sin is – these are the earthly consequences of sin.

#12:

Notice the difference between those who love God and the mad, destructive world; and the difference may tell you in part what sin is. There is peace and love in a holy, blameless person, that lives to love God and man, but the mad, confused, ignorant, ungodly state of the world is a pitiful sight.

(Adapted from “Directions for Hating Sin” by Richard Baxter)