Background Noise

I realised yesterday how easy it is to be frustrated with God, but not really acknowledge it. I've been frustrated over a particular issue for a number of years (related to sickness / suffering). But it occurred to me yesterday that I was in fact holding it against God, for allowing it to happen and not intervening. Subtle thoughts can run deep in your subconscious, which you dismiss and bury because they're not "text book", but somehow they won't go away.

Had to acknowledge and repent of it, which felt really good. Felt a new freedom with my relationship with God. Feels like a real weights been lifted.

It occurred to me that a very dangerous type of anger is the one you feel but don't acknowledge. Because then it just seethes under the surface and you don't deal with it.

First Sunday Preach

My first preach on a Sunday morning at Kings...

Assurance_of_Salvation.pdf

'Assurance of Salvation' and 'Conscious Change' from Kings Church Eastbourne on Vimeo.

Worldly Sorrow Vs Godly Sorrow

I've been provoked by several things I've read recently, in the Bible and in my 'Redemption' book. About the contrast between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow. A few thoughts on the ways you can distinguish worldly sorrow. One or all might apply:

     1. You're more worried about other people knowing what you've done than God knowing what you've done. You're more concerned about failing in the eyes of people, about their opinions, or knowledge of your short-comings than the actual offence committed against God.

     2. You can't forgive yourself. Although you might superficially accept that you're forgiven by God, you can't bring yourself to the same conclusion. To your mind, your standards, opinions and judgement has more weight than God's. You set yourself as a higher judge than Him. In a sense, your real god is yourself.

     3. You regret the consequences of your actions rather than the actual sin itself. The sin provides (or provided) you a payoff which you enjoy and don't regret. You might relive that experience, or continue to enjoy that specific part of the sin in a habitual cycle.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Matthew 5:4

"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death."
2 Corinthians. 7:10

The Expulsive Power of a New Affection

"The Puritan preacher Thomas Chaimers, in his sermon The Expulsive Power of a New Affection, said that desires for God and desires for sin cannot coexist in the human heart. They are two opposing "affections"—one will always push out the other. So, he said, "the only way to dispossess [the heart] of an old affection, is by the explosive power of a new one" (see Gal. 5:16-17). You can't just "stop it," because the it is always more than behavior. It is always rooted in your affections, in what you love—what you worship. Chalmers points the way forward: we worshiped our way into this mess, and by God's grace, we'll worship our way out."

Mike Wilkerson, Redemption, p38.
Thomas Chalmers, The Expulsive Power of a New Affection (PDF)

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."

Galatians 5:16-17

The Confession of Evil

"The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works"

Augustine of Hippo

A Matter of Life, Sin & Death

Two particular lines that jumped out at me from the Movement men's retreat:

"The more you give yourself to sin, the less dividends it pays."

"Until you have something to die for there's nothing to live for."

Richard Foster on Fasting

"Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it."
John Wesley

"Perhaps in our affluent society fasting involves a far larger sacrifice than the giving of money."
Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster, p66

"More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that controls us. This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Christ. We cover up what is inside us with food and other good things, but in fasting these things surface. If pride controls us, it will be revealed almost immediately. David writes, 'I humbled my soul with fasting' (Ps. 69:10). Anger, bitterness, jealousy, strife, fear — if they are within us, they will surface during fasting."
Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster, p67

"Fasting helps us keep our balance in life. How easily we begin to allow nonessentials to take precedence in our lives. How quickly we crave things we do not need until we are enslaved by them ... Our human cravings and desires are like rivers that tend to overflow their banks; fasting helps keep them in proper channels. 'I pommel my body and subdue it,' says Paul (1 Cor. 9:27)."
Celebration Of Discipline, Richard Foster, p68

Pain, Suffering and Sanctification (Part 2)

Very apt and made me laugh:

"Sanctification is a dirt path that lasts until God kills you."

Matt Chandler, 'What Are We Doing Here?', preached 31/10/2010.

Pain, Suffering and Sanctification

Nothing exposes your heart like pain and suffering. When you hit it, your heart is totally exposed. All the things you never realised were there are suddenly revealed. It's a very scary and sobering thing. I would guess that one of the reasons God allows pain and suffering is sanctification. It also forces you in one of two directions: anger against God, or throwing yourself into His arms. I would also guess this is one of the ways he sorts the sheep from the goats, how he brings people to salvation or forces them away.

Pain and suffering are necessary. Nobody looks for a saviour if they don't believe they need saving. Nothing reminds you of your need for salvation like pain, suffering and the presence of evil.

In all of this it's good to remind ourselves that God is totally good, and it's Satan that is evil. Like in the book of Job, God permits suffering, but it's Satan that causes it. And he can only go as far as God allows.

Wrestling with Hebrews 6

"For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned."
Hebrews 6: 4-8

A brutal and sobering passge of scripture. It seems to be saying that it's impossible for us to bring certain people back to repentance. And if repentance is impossible, you are in a place that is beyond salvation. People who were once amongst God's people, tasted the goodness of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and then fell away. There are two points that come to mind:

1. Were these people genuine Christians?
2. This word "impossible" is, in either case, very scary.

It makes reference to people who have previously repented. People who were enlightened, and even shared in the Holy Spirit. Does this mean they were genuine Christians? One thing's for sure: they outwardly appeared to be so, had partaken in the Christian life, and shared a degree of enlightenment. Having had all this they then decided that the world was better than Christ and returned to their previous way. In this they openly and publically shame Christ, bringing disgrace to His name, wounding the gospel and it's effectiveness in those around them.

In Jesus' parable of the sower there is seed which takes root and quickly springs up but is in shallow soil and dies; and also seed which is choked by thorns and thistles. In both cases there is a response to the gospel, and there is new life which springs out, but then dies away. This to me makes the most sense in interpreting Hebrews 6. I think faith often comes by degrees. A tree when it first grows is nothing but a tiny plant. Step on it and you squash it. But gradually, when protected, it grows and grows, over time it becomes established and forms an immovable living entity. A massive oak tree is hard to push around.

It almost seems like there's this transitionary period that's critical in a new believer. It's like becoming a Christian isn't merely flicking a switch, but a gradual process of roots going down and life springing up. There's a testing of faith over time, and some faith doesn't survive. So are these people true Christians? Hebrews 3:14 says "For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end." The test of truly authentic faith is that it perseveres to our last day on Earth. A person can therefore have many spiritual experiences and blessings, claim to be a Christian in all the right ways, and yet fail this long test of faith.

The most difficult word in all of this is the word "impossible". It's incredibly scary, but it's right there, in the Bible. It says some people can't be bought back to a place of repentance. Being in a place where you are unable to repent puts you beyond salvation. Very, very sobering should any of us fall into this pit, showing utter distain for the cross of Christ, and proving we were never of Him.

"Whoever comes to me I will never cast out."
John 6:37

This last point is an important one. God will never reject anyone who repents. Should a backslider return to Christ in humble repentance, they are guaranteed acceptance. The question is whether or not they themselves can repent.

If you just stopped moaning you might actually be happy

I felt God really speak to me clearly this week. And he said that I ought to stop moaning about everything. Life is hard work, yes. And you don't get much time to yourself and you're often quite tired. All good points, but you constantly moan!

What sparked it off was watching an older work colleague of mine who's had a tough week, and was sick, but was cheerful all the way through it. I realised that if I can do what I do, but in a cheerful spirit, I would be an awful lot happier. And my works would be a lot more pleasing to God.

"If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."
1 Corinthians 13:3

It's like, if I short-curcuited that whole meditation process where I get really manked-off with everything, my whole outlook on life would lift dramatically. It's not so much the moaning, which is really just the symptom, it's the meditation process that's the real issue. The process of churning things in your mind over and over.

"As a man thinks in his heart so is he"
Proverbs 23:7

Anyway, a good bit of repentance is the order of the day. Which makes me think. Repentance almost makes sense to be done as a weekly habit. Surely lots of little acts of realignment with God are much better than the big dramatic acts of repentance that only occur when your whole life is devastated. A thought to dwell on.

Humility is Masculine (Part 1)

Another quick thought (and one which I'll expand on later) is that humility and repentance are both very masculine traits when you think about it. They're the mark of a true Christian. As Luther said, 'all of life is repentance'.

They're also very difficult to achieve. They're the opposite of human nature. To achieve them requires strength, perseverance, endurance, boldness, courage and faith. There's nothing easy about that, but the more you think about it, the more these traits fit in with true masculinity.

Re-pent

I heard Rob Rufus a while back say a comment in one of his preaches, and the thought has stuck with me for quite a while. And it's this:

To repent is a very positive thing. The 'pent' part of the word means 'highest'. For example, a pent-house is the highest apartment in a building. So to re-pent means 'to go back to the highest way'. To me that's a very simple and positive concept. So often we think of it as getting on your knees, begging for mercy, hoping that we'll be spared from God's wrath!

This concept is re-inforced by a quote I just read by C.S. Lewis:

"[Repentance] is not something that God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off if He chose; it is simply a description of what going back is like."

How do you know you are saved?

This is the classic question the now retired founder of my church Don Smith used to drill us with. And as long as you knew Romans 10:9-10 you were safe! But this has got to be one of the most important questions to ask. I've been at my current church for 18 years, and one thing I can definitely say is that not everyone who believes they are a Christian is one.

Faith is tested over time through the course of life. Many people start well, hit a snag, and then drift off into the abyss. As Matthew 13:21 says "since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away." Being a Christian isn't easy.

"small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it."
Matthew 7:14

I never want to sow seeds of doubt about whether or not you are saved. But sometimes it's just not clear. If certain people I know died today, I would be left wondering whether or not they had gone to Hell, even though they professed to be Christians. And I hate that. As Paul said in Acts 26:20 "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds."

I would totally stress the need to prove your salvation to yourself and everyone around you. To make it abundantly clear that you are what you say you are. A few additional verses which I feel support this viewpoint:

"Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
James 2:17

"Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
Philippians 2:12

"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure."
2 Peter 1:10

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The sinners prayer is nowhere in the bible.

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Francis Chan (a church pastor in California) pointed this out in a preach, and I found it quite provoking. Nowhere in the bible do you see a one paragraph prayer that makes you a Christian. Not that the sinners prayer is essentially bad, definitely not if you truly mean every word you pray. But really, it's a very very condensed summary of a process that can take months or years.

So what would you find if you just read the bible and let it speak for itself? I've done my best to collate all the verses that relate to salvation. In doing this, they seem to suggest a certain process:

believe in Jesus > realise you are a sinner in danger of Hell > repent > be baptised > regeneration & new life.

In this, repentance seems to be the clear point of salvation. But I would argue that what follows (baptism and regeneration) are key evidences of salvation. When these are missing you get either carnal or counterfeit Christians. There's no real proof and a lot of uncertainty.

Below are the verses. This takes the form of a handout which I produced for one of my life group talks... hope it's useful!

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1. Believe in Jesus Christ

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"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
Romans 10:9-10

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16

By believing in Jesus, you are not merely believing that he existed, but you are believing in everything he said and did. This includes believing that:

He is the Son of God (Mark 14:61-64, John 8:58-59, John 10:30-33, John 14:8-9)

He came from Heaven (John 6:38, 41-42, 60, 66; John 16:28)

He was sinless (John 8:46)

He is the only way to heaven (John 14:6, John 11:25)

He was crucified on a cross (Matt 27: 32-66)

On the cross he paid the penalty for all your sins (past present and future), dying in your place and purchasing salvation. (1 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 10:12, Romans 3:25-26, Romans 5:19)

Three days after his death, he resurrected (Matt 28: 1-10)

Today he is seated on a Throne in Heaven, where he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Philippians 2:9-11, Revelation 19:16, Hebrews 12:2)

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2. Realise you are a sinner, in danger of Hell

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"There is no one righteous, not even one"
Romans 3:10

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
Romans 3:23

"But unless you repent, you too will all perish"
Luke 13:3

"For the wages of sin is death"
Romans 6:23

"Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment"
Hebrews 9:27

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins"
Ephesians 2:1

"They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts."
Ephesians 4:18

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3. Repent

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"Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
Mark 1: 14-15

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord"
Acts 3:19

"I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus."
Acts 20:21

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4. Be Baptised

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"Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" ... those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Acts 2:38

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:19-20

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3. Regeneration and New Life

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"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
2 Corinthians 5:17

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
John 7:38

"By their fruit you will recognize them... a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
Matthew 7: 16-20