Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Writing Ideas for the Fall...


Some Ideas for Blogs This Fall :

The Attributes of God (contd.)
*read the Attributes I have already covered*
Immutability

Infinitude

Oneness of God

Intro to the Attributes of God



My Thoughts on the Gospel of John: verse by verse (RepentResources)
* see notes on John 1:1





Excerpts from Pilgrim's Progress




Wednesday, September 23, 2009

8 Differences Between the Christian Joy and the World's Joy


by Thomas Watson


(1.) Spiritual joys help to make us BETTER, worldly joys often make us worse. "I spoke unto you in your prosperity—but you said, I will not hear." Jer 22:21. Pride and luxury are the two worms which are bred from worldly pleasures. Wine is the inflamer of lust. As Satan entered in the sop, so often in the cup. But spiritual joy makes one better; it is like cordial medicine, which, as physicians say, not only cheers the heart—but purges out the noxious humours. Just so, divine joy is cordial medicine, which not only comforts but purifies; it makes a Christian more holy; it causes an antipathy against sin; it infuses strength to live and suffer for Christ. "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Some colors not only delight the eye—but strengthen the sight. Just so, the joys of God not only refresh the soul—but strengthen it.
(2.) Spiritual joys are INWARD, they are heart joys. "Your heart shall rejoice." John 16:22. True joy is hidden within, worldly joy lies on the outside, like the dew which wets the leaf. We read of those who "rejoice in appearance," in the Greek, in the face. 2 Cor 5:12. It goes no farther than the face, it is not within. "Laughter can conceal a heavy heart; when the laughter ends, the grief remains." Proverbs 14:13. Like a house which has a gilded frontispiece—but all the rooms within are hung in mourning. But spiritual joy lies most within. "Your heart shall rejoice." Divine joy is like a spring of water which runs underground! Others can see the sufferings of a Christian—but they see not his joy. "Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy." Prov 14:10. His joy is hidden manna—hidden from the eye of the world; he has joyful music which others cannot hear. The marrow lies within, the best joy is within the heart.
(3.) Spiritual joys are SWEETER than worldly joys. "Your love is sweeter than wine!" Song of Songs 1:2. Spiritual joys are a Christian's festival; they are the golden pot and the sweet manna, they are so sweet, that they make everything else sweet! Spiritual joys sweeten health and estate, as sweet water poured on flowers makes them more fragrant and aromatic. Divine joys are so delicious and ravishing, that they put our mouth out of taste for earthly delights; just as he who has been drinking cordials tastes little sweetness in water. Paul had so tasted these divine joys, that his mouth was out of taste for worldly things; the world was crucified to him, it was like a dead thing, he could find no sweetness in it. Gal 6:14.
(4.) Spiritual joys are more PURE, they are not tempered with any bitter ingredients. A sinner's joy is mixed with dregs, it is embittered with fear and guilt—he drinks wormwood wine. But spiritual joy is not muddied with guilt—but like a crystal stream, it runs pure. It is a rose without prickles; it is honey without wax.
(5.) Spiritual joys are SATISFYING joys. "Ask, that your joy may be full." Worldly joys can no more fill the heart than a drop can fill an ocean; they may please the palate or imagination—but cannot satisfy the soul. "No matter how much we see—we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear—we are not content." Ecclesiastes 1:8. But the joys of God satisfy. "Your comforts delight my soul." Psalm 94:19. There is as much difference between spiritual joys and earthly joys—as between a banquet which is eaten—and one which is painted on the wall!
(6.) Spiritual joys are STRONGER joys than worldly joys. "Strong consolation." Heb 6:18. They are strong joys indeed, which can bear up a Christian's heart in trials and afflictions. "Having received the word in much affliction, with joy." These joys are roses which grow in winter! These joys can sweeten the bitter waters of Marah! He who has these joys, can gather grapes from thorns, and fetch honey out of the carcass of a lion! "As sorrowing—yet always rejoicing." 2 Cor 6: 10. At the end of the rod—a Christian tastes honey!
(7.) Spiritual joys are UNWEARIED joys. Other joys, when in excess, often cause loathing; too much honey nauseates. One may be tired of pleasure, as well as labor. King Xerxes offered a reward to him who could find out a new pleasure! But the joys of God, though they satisfy—yet they never glut. A drop of joy is sweet—but the more of this wine the better! Such as drink of the joys of heaven—are never glutted. Their satiety is without loathing, because they still desire more of the joy with which they are satiated.
(8.) Spiritual joys are ABIDING joys. Worldly joys are soon gone. Such as crown themselves with rosebuds, and bathe in the perfumed waters of pleasure—may have joys which seem to be sweet—but they are swift. They are like meteors, which give a bright and sudden flash, and then disappear. But the joys which believers have are abiding; they are a blossom of eternity—a pledge of those rivers of pleasure which run at God's right hand! "In Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures!" Psalm 16:11

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Another Jesus

Another Jesus - audio










Another Jesus is exactly what the title describes him as...another Jesus. This false teacher is not another religion, another Mohammed, Bhuddah, Bahai', or Scientologist. Another Jesus is a false teacher who professes to be connected to Jesus Christ in word, and in action. Jesus, in Matthew 24:4, says that one of the "signs of the times" will be that many false Christs will come in His name and they will decieve many people. The false Christ might recognize that he is false, but he probably wont because he has convinced himself that his message is of God; he has convinced himself that although he has some wolf-like tendencies, that he is a sheep.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-16, that you will recognize a false prophet by his fruit. Although he looks like a sheep, he is a wolf and although he looks just like all the other trees, his fruit is bad. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit and a wolf cannot stay a sheep but for so long. Here is the key in discerning (by Scripture) a false Christ. Watch his appetite. The major factor in identifying a sheep from a "so-called sheep" is their appetite: the sheep will feed upon what its nature requires it to. Likewise, the wolf will feed upon what its nature requires it to. It will only be so long after grazing in the green pastures that the "disguised sheep" will start to get hungry and because he is a wolf- he will turn to his nature. The appetite of a sheep, one who has heard the voice of his Savior, is the Word, holiness, repentance, Christ, and love. The Christian who has genuinely been saved and regenerated has a passion and a desire for God, they have a passion for holiness and a burning desire, like Paul in Philippians, to know Christ. The false prophets desire is upon earthly things and while the Christian is after the things of God such as holiness, faith, grace and truth- the false Christ is after the things of this world, in the name of God, and unfortunately he decieves many into following after him.



Today we hear many ministers and mainstream evangelists, both on tv before thousands and in pulpits every week, telling anxious crowds that they can put aside thoughts of eternal life and focus on their dreams, desires and passions here and now on the earth. Many, in the name of "prosperity", focus upon getting God to provide earthly things and treasures now.Why? Well because "you're a King's Kid","you walk in a higher anointing" ..."you sowed a miracle-seed" and "you gave God permission to work in the earth-realm"... Some call it "The Kingdom of God", while others call it "A Better You", and "Your Best Life Now" but the bottom line is that the focus is upon self and what God can do for "self"...since He's already done everything else for you anyways(says the false prophet). The aim today is not to point fingers, or to call out names, or even to hate these people with a witch-hunting passion...the point is to take the focus off of men and point them to Christ..to take the focus off of self and glorify the Savior. Its ironic how most of these teachers say that the Holy Spirit is very very operative in their ministries, yet you never hear sermons preached on sin, true righteousness, or judgment and this is His ministry (John 16:8).
Christ, Paul, and the Apostles warn of false teachers several times in the New Testament:

Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves. .

Matthew 24:4-5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

2 Peter 2:1-3
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Acts 20:28-31
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

These Scriptures are just a few of many that warn of false teachers and all should dilligently search the scriptures to find what are the signs of a false prophet.

The nature of the false prophet is not one of blatant, open all-out falsehood. The false prophet will never just come out spewing heresies that all men know are just wrong and pure evil. What the false prophet says will be heretical, it will be false and it will corrupt, but he does not speak it in a way that sounds as though it will do any damage. Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:3 gives an example of how Satan will work through the message of the false prophet so that he might decieve. "As the serpent beguiled Eve..." is the example given and Paul is referring to Genesis 3:1-4 when Eve was tempted in the garden to eat the fruit forbidden by God. In the sermon, I take a closer look as to how the serpent decieved Eve and essentially he breaks through when he convinces Eve to take the focus off of God's Holy and Just commandment and to place the focus upon her desires, upon her senses, and upon her self.

Gen 3:1-4
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 2And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate



Another Jesus doesent seek the glory of the Father, he seeks the glory of himself. as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:12 that these false apostles look for an occasion to boast in their works, and in their mission. These false prophets might even seek after godliness, but they only seek after it because of the gain that comes with godliness - their desire to be holy is only motivated from a desire for gain and in the end that is not holiness at all. Paul says in 1 Tim 6:5-6 that there is great gain in godliness...yes, the Lord does bless His people, He does provide their needs and they ought not be anxious like the Gentiles for food or clothing or shelter because those that seek His kingdom and His righteousness will be added to...but this gain that comes with desiring God and seeking after Him with a whole heart also brings contentment with it. Thats how Paul is able to say to the Philippian church (Phil 4:11-13) "11Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

The false prophet is not satisfied or content with contentment. Do you see how the serpent convinced Eve to be dissatisfied with the perfect, God fellowshipping, holy,lifestyle that she and Adam had in the garden? "There has to be more!!" the serpent said, and he convinced her that "more" was found in eating the fruit and fulfilling her desires and wants. The false prophet tells you that "There has to be more" than holiness, righteousness, true worship, and living for Christ....there is a better life now" he says...."You can have whatever you want and your "Daddy in Heaven" will give it to you...He has to because He promised..." I could go on for days...but the point of this is that the false prophets focus is upon the earth while the Christ was focused upon glorifying the Father in Heaven.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A.W. Tozer on Worship and Entertainment


"The modern effort to popularize the Christian faith has been extremely damaging to that faith. The purpose has been to
simplify truth for the masses by using the language of the masses instead of the language of the church. It has not
succeeded, but has added to rather than diminished religious confusion"...
A.W. Tozer

Monday, September 7, 2009

Does the Church Replace Israel - Dr. Arturo Azurdia III

Does the Church Replace Israel?
by
Dr. Arturo Azurdia III

"And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: 'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." (Revelation 2:8)
... Poverty as a consequence of slander and accusations .... The source of their persecution: the Romans. Fomenting the Roman persecution was the inciting accusations of ethnic Israelites about whom Jesus here says are not worthy of that ancient and honorable name. "I know the slander [blasphemy] by those who say they are Jews and are not." My friends that is a profoundly important statement. When we watch the flow of redemptive history, the storyline of the Bible unfold and we move from the epic of promise into the epic of fulfillment, God's people are no longer defined genealogically, they are defined Christologically ... Christocentrically. You say "what do you mean?" True Jews are those who follow Jesus as their Messiah. They are characterized by a birth not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. They are marked out by a circumcision not of the flesh but of the heart. So who then are these people? These people who claim to be Jews by virtue of their bloodline, but according to Jesus himself, they are not. Jesus defines them for us: "They are a synagogue of Satan." It is like what Jesus says to the unbelieving Pharisees in John chapter 8, who claimed the paternity of Abraham. He says: "You are of your father the devil." You see beloved, this is why we need to think clearly at this point. This is what is so utterly wrong today when people refer to the Judeo-Christian God. [They say] "Christians and Jews really in the end worship the same God." NO! ...To reject Jesus Christ is to reject the full and final revelation of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The truth is there is no such thing as an orthodox Jew, beloved, unless he is a Christian because if the Jews really believed in the Old Testament they would believe in Jesus Christ. If a person does not believe in Jesus Christ then, according to John chapter 5, then he does not believe in Moses either. "Moses spoke of me," Jesus said. And so Paul says in Romans chapter 2 "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly nor is circumcision merely outward and physical", no "a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly and circumcision is circumcision of the heart by the Spirit not the written code."
Now friends, people often ask me, "Do you believe that the church replaces Israel. The answer is "no of course not!!!" The church does not replace Israel. The fact is, Jewish people who reject Jesus Christ are apostate from Israel. Following Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of true Judaism. Everything in the Old Testament pointed to Him. Israel and the church, then, are not in radical discontinuity, rather, the later is the consummated expression of the former. Beloved, a failure to appreciate that has profoundly determined strange things in our [own] country. By virtue of the influence of American evangelicalism we say silly things like "Always side with Israel, no matter what Israel does always side with Israel. God will take care of America if we always side with Israel. They are God's people." [But] Jesus says they are a synagogue of Satan. And is there a reason then why American evangelicals are notoriously ineffective in their evangelism of Arabs?
[Jesus is] The full, final, ultimate expression of Judaism. You are Abraham's seed. C'mon ... Tear those pages out of your study Bibles.

Friday, September 4, 2009

"Sin" by J.C. Ryle





"Concerning the extent of this vast moral disease of man called 'sin', let us beware that we make no mistake. The only safe ground is that which is laid for us in Scripture. 'Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart' is by nature 'evil', and that 'continually'. 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked' (Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9). Sin is a disease which pervades and runs through every part of our moral constitution and every faculty of our minds. The understanding, the affections, the reasoning powers, the will, are all more or less infected. Even the conscience is so blinded that it cannot be depended on as a sure guide, and is as likely to lead men wrong as right, unless it is enlightened by the Holy Ghost. In short, 'from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness' about us (Isaiah 1:6). The disease may be veiled under a thin covering of courtesy, politeness, good manners and outward decorum, but it lies deep down in the constitution.
I admit fully that man has many grand and noble faculties left about him, and that in arts and sciences and literature he shows immense capacity. But the fact still remains that in spiritual things he is utterly 'dead', and has no natural knowledge, or love, or fear of God. His best things are so interwoven and intermingled with corruption, that the contrast only brings out into sharper relief the truth and extent of the Fall. That one and the same creature should be in some things so high and in others so low; so great and yet so little; so noble and yet so mean; so grand in his conception and execution of material things and yet so groveling and debased in his affections; that he should be able to plan and erect buildings like those at Carnac and Luxor in Egypt and the Parthenon at Athens, and yet worship vile gods and goddesses and birds and beasts and creeping things; that he should be able to produce tragedies like those of Aeschylus and Sophocles, and histories like that of Thucydides, and yet be a slave to abominable vices like those described in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans - all this is a sore puzzle to those who sneer at 'God's Word written', and scoff at us as bibliolaters. But it is a knot that we can untie with the Bible in our hands. We can acknowledge that man has all the marks of a majestic temple about him, a temple in which God once dwelt, but a temple which is now in utter ruins, a temple in which a shattered window here, and a doorway there, and a column there, still give some faint idea of the magnificence of the original design, but a temple which from end to end has lost its glory and fallen from its high estate. And we say that nothing solves the complicated problem of man's condition but the doctrine of original or birth-sin and the crushing effects of the Fall."
—Holiness