Last Sunday I mentioned briefly the myth of adolescence. While getting ready for this weeks message (on Luke 1:57-80), I came across the following sermon clip from Mark Driscoll who discusses perpetual adolescence in "men" - or as he calls it "boys who shave."
Friday, December 28, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
The Mountain of Fire: A Documentary on Mount Sinai
Tonight we'll be watching the documentary The Search For the Real Mount Sinai. Here is the show National Geographic did on the two adventurers that put the documentary together. Its fascinating.
For more:
Archeological & Historical Evidence of the Exodus
The Prince of Egypt: Moses and the Burning Bush Scene
The Prince of Egypt: The 10 Plagues
Prince Of Egypt - The Parting & Crossing the Red Sea
For more:
Archeological & Historical Evidence of the Exodus
The Prince of Egypt: Moses and the Burning Bush Scene
The Prince of Egypt: The 10 Plagues
Prince Of Egypt - The Parting & Crossing the Red Sea
Friday, December 7, 2012
Jesus is Greater than Santa
I believe this is what Brandy read last Sunday.
Santa lives at the North Pole ...
JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh ...
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year ...
JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies ...
JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited ...
JESUS stands at your door and knocks,
and then enters your heart when invited.
You have to wait in line to see Santa ...
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap ...
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is
"Hi little boy or girl, what's your name?" ...
JESUS knew our name before we were born...
Not only does He know our name,
He knows our address too.
He knows our history and future and
He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly ...
JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO ...
JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry" ...
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."
Santa's little helpers make toys ...
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts,
repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but ...
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree ...
JESUS became our gift and died on a tree....
The cross.
Santa lives at the North Pole ...
JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh ...
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year ...
JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies ...
JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited ...
JESUS stands at your door and knocks,
and then enters your heart when invited.
You have to wait in line to see Santa ...
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap ...
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is
"Hi little boy or girl, what's your name?" ...
JESUS knew our name before we were born...
Not only does He know our name,
He knows our address too.
He knows our history and future and
He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly ...
JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO ...
JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry" ...
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."
Santa's little helpers make toys ...
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts,
repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but ...
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree ...
JESUS became our gift and died on a tree....
The cross.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Friday, November 30, 2012
Jesus is King: A Biblical Theology
Last Sunday we discussed from the entirety of Scripture the biblical motif and theme of the Kingship of Jesus. We bare, and I mean barely, scratched the surface. So I want to pass along a more thorough biblical theology of the Kingship of Jesus. So below I want to pass along a number of key biblical passages, prophecies, and texts that extol, predict, and proclaim that Jesus is King.
The Pentateuch
Genesis 49:8-10 –“Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion & as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; & to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Numbers 24:17 – I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, & a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab & break down all the sons of Sheth.
Numbers 24:19 – & one from Jacob shall exercise dominion & destroy the survivors of cities!”
Davidic Kingdom
2 Samuel 7:11-16 – from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. & I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled & you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, & I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, & I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, & he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. & your house & your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'”
1 Chronicles 17:9-14 – & I will appoint a place for my people Israel & will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place & be disturbed no more. & violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. & I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, & I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, & I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, & he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house & in my kingdom forever, & his throne shall be established forever.'”
1 Chronicles 22 - Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
2 So David gave orders to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. 3 David prepared large quantities of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed; 4 and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. 5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.
6 Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. 9 Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 11 Now, my son, the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you. 12 Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. 14 Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. 15 Moreover, there are many workmen with you, stonecutters and masons of stone and carpenters, and all men who are skillful in every kind of work. 16 Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may the Lord be with you.”
17 David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, 18 “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. 19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”
2 Chronicles 6:5-17 – 'Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there, & I chose no man as prince over my people Israel; but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, & I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.' Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. But the LORD said to David my father, 'Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless, it is not you who shall build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.' Now the LORD has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father & sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, & I have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. & there I have set the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with the people of Israel.” Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel & spread out his hands. Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, & three cubits high, & had set it in the court, & he stood on it. Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, & spread out his hands toward heaven, & said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant & showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, & with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, 'You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.' Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David.
2 Chronicles 13:5 – Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David & his sons by a covenant of salt?
2 Chronicles 21:7 – Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, & since he had promised to give a lamp to him & to his sons forever.
Psalm 89:19-37 - Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 “I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom My hand will be established;
My arm also will strengthen him.
22 “The enemy will not deceive him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 “But I shall crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
24 “My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
And in My name his horn will be exalted.
25 “I shall also set his hand on the sea
And his right hand on the rivers.
26 “He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 “I also shall make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 “My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.
29 “So I will establish his descendants forever
And his throne as the days of heaven.
Isaiah 9:7 – Of the increase of his government & of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David & over his kingdom, to establish it & to uphold it with justice & with righteousness from this time forth & forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 16:5 – then a throne will be established in steadfast love, & on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges & seeks justice & is swift to do righteousness.”
Isaiah 22:20-25 – In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, & I will clothe him with your robe, & will bind your sash on him, & will commit your authority to his hand. & he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem & to the house of Judah. & I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, & none shall shut; & he shall shut, & none shall open. & I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, & he will become a throne of honor to his father's house. & they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring & issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, & it will be cut down & fall, & the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken.”
Jeremiah 23:5 – “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, & he shall reign as king & deal wisely, & shall execute justice & righteousness in the land.
Jeremiah 33:15-26 – In those days & at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, & he shall execute justice & righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, & Jerusalem will dwell securely. & this is the name by which it will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'”For thus says the LORD: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, & the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, & to make sacrifices forever.” The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:”Thus says the LORD: If you can break my covenant with the day & my covenant with the night, so that day & night will not come at their appointed time, then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, & my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered & the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, & the Levitical priests who minister to me.” The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Have you not observed that these people are saying, 'The LORD has rejected the two clans that he chose'? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. Thus says the LORD: If I have not established my covenant with day & night & the fixed order of heaven & earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob & David my servant & will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes & will have mercy on them.”
Jeremiah 30:9 – But they shall serve the LORD their God & David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
Ezekiel 34:23-24 – & I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, & he shall feed them: he shall feed them & be their shepherd. & I, the LORD, will be their God, & my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.
Ezekiel 37:24-25 – “My servant David shall be king over them, & they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules & be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They & their children & their children’s children shall dwell there forever, & David my servant shall be their prince forever.
Hosea 3:5 – Afterward the children of Israel shall return & seek the LORD their God, & David their king, & they shall come in fear to the LORD & to his goodness in the latter days.
New Testament
Luke 1:32-33 – He will be great & will be called the Son of the Most High. & the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
Matthew 1 – Genealogy
Matthew 2 – Magi
Matthew 3 – John the Baptist
Matthew 4 – Start of the King’s Reign & War Against the Dragon
Matthew 5-7 – Teachings of the King
Matthew 8-12 – Acts of the King
Matthew 13 – The Parables of the Kingdom
Matthew 14-15 – Authority of the King Challenged
Matthew 16-28 – The King’s Cross
1 Timothy 1:17 – To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor & glory forever & ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 6:15 – which he will display at the proper time--he who is the blessed & only Sovereign, the King of kings & Lord of lords,
Revelation 15:3 – & they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, & the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great & amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just & true are your ways, O King of the nations!
Revelation 17:14 – They will make war on the Lamb, & the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords & King of kings, & those with him are called & chosen & faithful.”
Revelation 19:16 – On his robe & on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings & Lord of lords.
See, told you we barely scratched the surface Sunday! :o)
The Pentateuch
Genesis 49:8-10 –“Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion & as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; & to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Numbers 24:17 – I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, & a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab & break down all the sons of Sheth.
Numbers 24:19 – & one from Jacob shall exercise dominion & destroy the survivors of cities!”
Davidic Kingdom
2 Samuel 7:11-16 – from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. & I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled & you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, & I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, & I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, & he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. & your house & your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'”
1 Chronicles 17:9-14 – & I will appoint a place for my people Israel & will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place & be disturbed no more. & violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. & I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, & I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, & I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, & he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, but I will confirm him in my house & in my kingdom forever, & his throne shall be established forever.'”
1 Chronicles 22 - Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
2 So David gave orders to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. 3 David prepared large quantities of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed; 4 and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. 5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.
6 Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. 9 Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 11 Now, my son, the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you. 12 Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. 14 Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. 15 Moreover, there are many workmen with you, stonecutters and masons of stone and carpenters, and all men who are skillful in every kind of work. 16 Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may the Lord be with you.”
17 David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, 18 “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. 19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”
2 Chronicles 6:5-17 – 'Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there, & I chose no man as prince over my people Israel; but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, & I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.' Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. But the LORD said to David my father, 'Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless, it is not you who shall build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.' Now the LORD has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father & sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, & I have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. & there I have set the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with the people of Israel.” Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel & spread out his hands. Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, & three cubits high, & had set it in the court, & he stood on it. Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, & spread out his hands toward heaven, & said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant & showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, & with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, 'You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.' Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David.
2 Chronicles 13:5 – Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David & his sons by a covenant of salt?
2 Chronicles 21:7 – Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, & since he had promised to give a lamp to him & to his sons forever.
Psalm 89:19-37 - Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 “I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom My hand will be established;
My arm also will strengthen him.
22 “The enemy will not deceive him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 “But I shall crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
24 “My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
And in My name his horn will be exalted.
25 “I shall also set his hand on the sea
And his right hand on the rivers.
26 “He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 “I also shall make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 “My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.
29 “So I will establish his descendants forever
And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 “If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they violate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod
And their iniquity with stripes.
33 “But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
34 “My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
35 “Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36 “His descendants shall endure forever
And his throne as the sun before Me.
37 “It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah.
And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they violate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod
And their iniquity with stripes.
33 “But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
34 “My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
35 “Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36 “His descendants shall endure forever
And his throne as the sun before Me.
37 “It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah.
Isaiah 9:7 – Of the increase of his government & of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David & over his kingdom, to establish it & to uphold it with justice & with righteousness from this time forth & forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 16:5 – then a throne will be established in steadfast love, & on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges & seeks justice & is swift to do righteousness.”
Isaiah 22:20-25 – In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, & I will clothe him with your robe, & will bind your sash on him, & will commit your authority to his hand. & he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem & to the house of Judah. & I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, & none shall shut; & he shall shut, & none shall open. & I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, & he will become a throne of honor to his father's house. & they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring & issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, & it will be cut down & fall, & the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken.”
Jeremiah 23:5 – “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, & he shall reign as king & deal wisely, & shall execute justice & righteousness in the land.
Jeremiah 33:15-26 – In those days & at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, & he shall execute justice & righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, & Jerusalem will dwell securely. & this is the name by which it will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'”For thus says the LORD: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, & the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, & to make sacrifices forever.” The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:”Thus says the LORD: If you can break my covenant with the day & my covenant with the night, so that day & night will not come at their appointed time, then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, & my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered & the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, & the Levitical priests who minister to me.” The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Have you not observed that these people are saying, 'The LORD has rejected the two clans that he chose'? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. Thus says the LORD: If I have not established my covenant with day & night & the fixed order of heaven & earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob & David my servant & will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes & will have mercy on them.”
Jeremiah 30:9 – But they shall serve the LORD their God & David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
Ezekiel 34:23-24 – & I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, & he shall feed them: he shall feed them & be their shepherd. & I, the LORD, will be their God, & my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.
Ezekiel 37:24-25 – “My servant David shall be king over them, & they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules & be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They & their children & their children’s children shall dwell there forever, & David my servant shall be their prince forever.
Hosea 3:5 – Afterward the children of Israel shall return & seek the LORD their God, & David their king, & they shall come in fear to the LORD & to his goodness in the latter days.
New Testament
Luke 1:32-33 – He will be great & will be called the Son of the Most High. & the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
Matthew 1 – Genealogy
Matthew 2 – Magi
Matthew 3 – John the Baptist
Matthew 4 – Start of the King’s Reign & War Against the Dragon
Matthew 5-7 – Teachings of the King
Matthew 8-12 – Acts of the King
Matthew 13 – The Parables of the Kingdom
Matthew 14-15 – Authority of the King Challenged
Matthew 16-28 – The King’s Cross
1 Timothy 1:17 – To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor & glory forever & ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 6:15 – which he will display at the proper time--he who is the blessed & only Sovereign, the King of kings & Lord of lords,
Revelation 15:3 – & they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, & the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great & amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just & true are your ways, O King of the nations!
Revelation 17:14 – They will make war on the Lamb, & the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords & King of kings, & those with him are called & chosen & faithful.”
Revelation 19:16 – On his robe & on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings & Lord of lords.
See, told you we barely scratched the surface Sunday! :o)
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
"King of Kings & Lord of Lords: The Regal Reign of the Warrior Lamb" - A Sermon Preached by Albert Mohler
We are starting a new sermon series Sunday on the end times (the fancy term is Eschatology). Each year I like for us to spend a few week discussing some doctrine. This year, following last years false prediction from Harold Camping and now with the December 21 nonsense, I thought it would be helpful for us to discuss a few things about the end.
With that in mind, I want to pass along a helpful sermon from the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (my alma mater) on the Kingship of Jesus. We will discuss this ourselves.
With that in mind, I want to pass along a helpful sermon from the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (my alma mater) on the Kingship of Jesus. We will discuss this ourselves.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
SBTS: Dr. Marvin Tate Dies at Age 87
From SBTS Tower's campus newspaper:
Marvin Embry Tate Jr., an alumnus and longtime professor of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, died Oct.15. He was a professor of Old Testament interpretation from 1960 until 1995, and then a senior professor until 2003.
Born May 2 1925, Tate grew up in Washington, Ark. In 1944, he
enrolled at Ouachita Baptist University, from which he graduated with a
bachelor’s degree in 1947. Tate then attended Southern Seminary, earning
a divinity degree in 1952 and a doctorate in 1958.
Marvin Embry Tate Jr., an alumnus and longtime professor of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, died Oct.15. He was a professor of Old Testament interpretation from 1960 until 1995, and then a senior professor until 2003.
A memorial service honoring Tate will take place Tuesday,
Nov. 20 at Buechel Park Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., at 11 a.m. A
public burial will immediately follow the funeral at Cave Hill Cemetery.
The preceding day, Monday Nov. 19, the Tate family will hold a
visitation from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Pearson Funeral Home on Breckenridge
Ln. in Louisville.
While finishing his final degree, Tate spent three years
pastoring a church in Tulsa, Okla., during which time he married his
wife, Julia Moorman. After he graduated, Tate and his new wife moved to
Texas, where he taught at Wayland Baptist College. He joined the
Southern Seminary faculty in 1960. In 1965, Tate signed the Abstract of
Principles, and in 1992, Tate took an endowed position, as the John R.
Sampey Professor of Old Testament — a chair he held until his retirement
from full-time teaching in 1995.
Tate leaves behind his wife of 52 years and his five children, Sarah, Martha, Betsey, Marvin and Virgina.
Southern Seminary’s Office of Communications will post a full obituary after the weekend.
God's Providence in Scripture
Tomorrow we will finish our series on the book of Philippians by discussing contentment. Key to contentment, as we will see, is God's providence. Scripture presents a high view of God's providence wherein He is in complete control over every aspect of our lives & of history. Below are some important passages of Scripture that defend this view:
Isaiah 37:26 - “Have you not heard? Long ago I did it, From ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, That you should turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
Isaiah 22:11 - And you made a reservoir between the two walls For the waters of the old pool. But you did not depend on Him who made it, Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.
Psalm 139:16 - Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
Job 14:5 - “Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.
Isaiah 46:10-11 - Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.
Isaiah 14:24-27 - 24 The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand, 25 to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder. 26 This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. 27 For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”
Job 42:2 - “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
Jeremiah 23:20 - “The anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it.
Zechariah 1:6 - 6 But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
Proverbs 16:4 - The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.
Isaiah 40:12 - Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?
Luke 21:20-22 - 20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; 22 because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
Matthew 26:24 - 24 The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Matthew 1:22 - 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
Acts 2:23 - this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
Romans 9:20-23 - 20 On
the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing
molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will
it? 21 Or
does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same
lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? 22 What
if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power
known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for
destruction? 23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,
Ephesians 1:11-12 - 11 also
we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to
His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
Romans 8:28 - 28 And
we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Isaiah 37:26 - “Have you not heard? Long ago I did it, From ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, That you should turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
Isaiah 22:11 - And you made a reservoir between the two walls For the waters of the old pool. But you did not depend on Him who made it, Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.
Psalm 139:16 - Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
Job 14:5 - “Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.
Isaiah 46:10-11 - Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.
Isaiah 14:24-27 - 24 The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand, 25 to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder. 26 This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. 27 For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”
Job 42:2 - “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
Jeremiah 23:20 - “The anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it.
Zechariah 1:6 - 6 But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
Proverbs 16:4 - The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.
Isaiah 40:12 - Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?
Jeremiah 10:12-13 - 12 It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. 13 When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses.
Proverbs 16:33 - The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.
Proverbs 19:21 - Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand.
Luke 21:20-22 - 20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; 22 because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
Matthew 26:24 - 24 The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Matthew 1:22 - 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
Acts 2:23 - this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
Acts 4:27-28 - 27 For
truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy
servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along
with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
Acts 1:16 - 16 “Brethren,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by
the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who
arrested Jesus.
1 Corinthians 12:18 - 18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
1 Corinthians 15:38 - 38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.
Colossians 1:10 - 10 so
that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all
respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the
knowledge of God;
Galatians 3:8 - 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
Galatians 1:15 - 15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased
For more:
April 29, 2012 | Ruth 1:1-22 - Better or Bitter: When Providence Means Suffering
May 6, 2012 | Ruth 2:1-13 - And It Just So Happened ...: When God's Invisible Hand Becomes Visible
May 20, 2012 | Ruth 2:14-23 - Grace in Abundance: That's Why Its So Amazing
May 27, 2012 | Ruth 3:1-9 - Resting in the Providence of God - Part 1
May 6, 2012 | Ruth 2:1-13 - And It Just So Happened ...: When God's Invisible Hand Becomes Visible
May 20, 2012 | Ruth 2:14-23 - Grace in Abundance: That's Why Its So Amazing
May 27, 2012 | Ruth 3:1-9 - Resting in the Providence of God - Part 1
GBC - Repost | "A Sweet & Bitter Providence" by John Piper
GBC - Tony Evans on God and Purpose
Sermon - September 19, 2010 - God is Provident
GBC - Calvin on Providence
August 1, 2010 - Matthew 6:25-34 - Worry and the Providence of God: What Our Anxiety Says About What We Believe About God
April 18, 2010 - Haggai 2:1-9 - And the Lord Said, "Get-r-Done"
August 30, 2009 - Psalm 23:6 - The Peace of the Shepherd's Providence
Sermon - Esther 4 - God's Providence
GBC - Providence and Prayer: Carson Responds
GBC - Tony Evans on God and Purpose
Sermon - September 19, 2010 - God is Provident
GBC - Calvin on Providence
August 1, 2010 - Matthew 6:25-34 - Worry and the Providence of God: What Our Anxiety Says About What We Believe About God
April 18, 2010 - Haggai 2:1-9 - And the Lord Said, "Get-r-Done"
August 30, 2009 - Psalm 23:6 - The Peace of the Shepherd's Providence
Sermon - Esther 4 - God's Providence
GBC - Providence and Prayer: Carson Responds
Friday, November 9, 2012
House of Worship: A Brief History of Goshen Baptist Church
Goshen Baptist Church at Glen Dean, Kentucky is recognized asthe oldest continuous existing Baptist meeting house in BReckinridge County.*
November 23, 1808, a group of baptized believers met in the home of Thomas Owen Sr. Baptist ministers, Water Stallard, Alexander McDougal and Warren Cash served as the Presbytery of Council of recognition and recognized as members of the Salem Association of Kentucky.
The United Baptist Church of Jesus Christ was given the name of "Goshen" by its first pastor, James Haden Moorman. Goshen means "land of plenty and comfort." The congregation met in homes until 1810 when the first log "House of Worship" was built near Long Lick Creek on the Thomas Owen farm. In 1828 another log house was built in the long Lick Creek vicinity to serve as the meeting house and school until a shcoolhouse could be built. In 1839, under the leadership of their pastor, Simeon Buchanan, pastor for twenty-three years, there was a great Revival resulting in many additions of both Blacks and Whites. with rapidly growing membership, a movement was made to erect a new "House of Worship." The frame building was built on land donated by Brother Grant Owen. the new "House of Worship" was in full use by July 1842.
In 1872 the members voted to move near Rock Lick Creek in the area of the old Goshen Bridge. The new frame uilding was built on land donated by W. J. Dean. Jese Moorman, Henry R. Dean and Thomas O. Moorman were named Trustee's.
The congregation moved again in the early 1900's to an early railroad settlement, Glen Dean, Kentucky. Members that lived west of the creek wanted to establish a church. This vote was approved and with the assistance of the members, Black Lick Church was formed and is active today. In 1904, both churches were established in their communities. Black Lick Church and Goshen Baptist Church both became members of the Breckinridge Baptist Association, which was organized in 1903.
Reverend D. B. clapp was the first pastor at the new location of Goshen Baptist Church. In 1956 an educational building was built. The bell was later removed from the cupola. The church purchased a mobile home to be used as a parsonage in 1961. Over th eyears, the original church has been renovated with lowered ceilings, handicap entrance, walkways, kitchen and bathrooms, furnace and new pews. In 1995 a lot on Highway 105 was purchased to build a parsonage. September 28, 1998 the church celebrated their debt free status on the parsonage with a note burning and dedication service.
Goshen's former pastors and families have been Bible believing, God fearing people who have gone on to serve our Lord in numerous ministries, as teachers, missionaries, professors, pastors and other areas of ministry.
* This is a history taken from an old, one page history book my wife and I discovered while cleaning out one of the rooms in the Sunday School building. In order to ensure that this history will not be lost to history, I thought I would reprint it here. The pamphlet was written in 1904 - the 100 anniversary of the current location of our church.
For more:
All the Pastor's of Goshen: From 1808-Present
November 23, 1808, a group of baptized believers met in the home of Thomas Owen Sr. Baptist ministers, Water Stallard, Alexander McDougal and Warren Cash served as the Presbytery of Council of recognition and recognized as members of the Salem Association of Kentucky.
The United Baptist Church of Jesus Christ was given the name of "Goshen" by its first pastor, James Haden Moorman. Goshen means "land of plenty and comfort." The congregation met in homes until 1810 when the first log "House of Worship" was built near Long Lick Creek on the Thomas Owen farm. In 1828 another log house was built in the long Lick Creek vicinity to serve as the meeting house and school until a shcoolhouse could be built. In 1839, under the leadership of their pastor, Simeon Buchanan, pastor for twenty-three years, there was a great Revival resulting in many additions of both Blacks and Whites. with rapidly growing membership, a movement was made to erect a new "House of Worship." The frame building was built on land donated by Brother Grant Owen. the new "House of Worship" was in full use by July 1842.
In 1872 the members voted to move near Rock Lick Creek in the area of the old Goshen Bridge. The new frame uilding was built on land donated by W. J. Dean. Jese Moorman, Henry R. Dean and Thomas O. Moorman were named Trustee's.
The congregation moved again in the early 1900's to an early railroad settlement, Glen Dean, Kentucky. Members that lived west of the creek wanted to establish a church. This vote was approved and with the assistance of the members, Black Lick Church was formed and is active today. In 1904, both churches were established in their communities. Black Lick Church and Goshen Baptist Church both became members of the Breckinridge Baptist Association, which was organized in 1903.
Reverend D. B. clapp was the first pastor at the new location of Goshen Baptist Church. In 1956 an educational building was built. The bell was later removed from the cupola. The church purchased a mobile home to be used as a parsonage in 1961. Over th eyears, the original church has been renovated with lowered ceilings, handicap entrance, walkways, kitchen and bathrooms, furnace and new pews. In 1995 a lot on Highway 105 was purchased to build a parsonage. September 28, 1998 the church celebrated their debt free status on the parsonage with a note burning and dedication service.
Goshen's former pastors and families have been Bible believing, God fearing people who have gone on to serve our Lord in numerous ministries, as teachers, missionaries, professors, pastors and other areas of ministry.
* This is a history taken from an old, one page history book my wife and I discovered while cleaning out one of the rooms in the Sunday School building. In order to ensure that this history will not be lost to history, I thought I would reprint it here. The pamphlet was written in 1904 - the 100 anniversary of the current location of our church.
For more:
All the Pastor's of Goshen: From 1808-Present
November 4, 2012 | Philippians 3:12-4:1: The Joy of Pressing On
Sunday we looked at the end of chapter 3 of Paul's letter to the Philippians as he encourages us to "press on" in sanctification. Let us not fall for the lie of religion that meshes justification and sanctification, but let us be free in Christ to obey Christ. Let us press on.
12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
4 Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.
Notes
Audio
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
October 7, 2012 | Philippians 2:12-30: The Joy of Sanctification
October 21, 2012 | Philippians 3:1-11: The Joy of a Pure Gospel
October 28, 2012 | Jude 1-25 - Is Grace a License to Sin?: Jude & the Antinomians
For more:
"End of Construction. Thank You For Your Patience": Ruth Bell Graham & the Hope of Sanctification
There is no Gospel Without Blood
MacArthur: Salvation is Divine Transaction & Transformation
This is Who We Are: What a Baptist Is and Believes - Salvation
Bonhoeffer on Matthew 5:7-9
12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
4 Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.
Notes
Audio
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
October 7, 2012 | Philippians 2:12-30: The Joy of Sanctification
October 21, 2012 | Philippians 3:1-11: The Joy of a Pure Gospel
October 28, 2012 | Jude 1-25 - Is Grace a License to Sin?: Jude & the Antinomians
For more:
"End of Construction. Thank You For Your Patience": Ruth Bell Graham & the Hope of Sanctification
There is no Gospel Without Blood
MacArthur: Salvation is Divine Transaction & Transformation
This is Who We Are: What a Baptist Is and Believes - Salvation
Bonhoeffer on Matthew 5:7-9
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
"End of Construction. Thank You For Your Patience": Ruth Bell Graham & the Hope of Sanctification
Sunday we will be discussing the doctrine of sanctification - or as I prefer to call it "holification." There are three aspects of salvation: justification, sanctification, and glorification. Think of it as salvation is past (justification), present and ongoing (sanctification), and future and final (glorification). Consider what Paul says in Philippians 3:12-:4:1 (our text for Sunday).
12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
4 Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.
As I was thinking about this text and thinking about what is meant by these three terms, I am reminded of the epitaph of Ruth Bell Graham, the wife of Billy Graham, who died in 2007. It reads, End of Construction. Thank you for your patience.
Perfect.
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
October 7, 2012 | Philippians 2:12-30: The Joy of Sanctification
October 21, 2012 | Philippians 3:1-11: The Joy of a Pure Gospel
October 28, 2012 | Jude 1-25 - Is Grace a License to Sin?: Jude & the Antinomians
For more:
There is no Gospel Without Blood
MacArthur: Salvation is Divine Transaction & Transformation
This is Who We Are: What a Baptist Is and Believes - Salvation
Bonhoeffer on Matthew 5:7-9
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
October 28, 2012 | Jude 1-25 - Is Grace a Licence to Sin?: Jude & the Antinomians
Last Sunday we took a bit of a break from the book of Philippians. The reason is to offer some balance. Religion, as portrayed in Philippians 3:1-11, is an extortion of the gospel. But so is antinomianism. In the New Testament we see both extremes present and condemned by the apostles. Paul has to deal with the Judaizers in many of the earliest writings like Philippians and Galatians. The later writings, like Jude and 2 Peter, are having to deal with the opposite, libertarianism. Thus I thought it would be helpful to look at the latter following our discussion of religion.
1 Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Notes
Audio
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
October 7, 2012 | Philippians 2:12-30: The Joy of Sanctification
October 21, 2012 | Philippians 3:1-11: The Joy of a Pure Gospel
October 28, 2012 | Jude 1-25 - Is Grace a License to Sin?: Jude & the Antinomians
For more:
Jude: Contend Earnestly for the Faith Once For All Delivered to the Saints
1 Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Notes
Audio
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
October 7, 2012 | Philippians 2:12-30: The Joy of Sanctification
October 21, 2012 | Philippians 3:1-11: The Joy of a Pure Gospel
October 28, 2012 | Jude 1-25 - Is Grace a License to Sin?: Jude & the Antinomians
For more:
Jude: Contend Earnestly for the Faith Once For All Delivered to the Saints
October 21, 2012 | Philippians 3:1-11: The Joy of a Pure Gospel
Religion is a cancer. In Philippians 3, Paul turns to challenge the Judaizers in the congregation. These false teachers are promoting a gospel of works. They are telling the congregation that unless they obey the Mosaic Law they are not saved. Religion is a corruption of the gospel. Paul, in this passage, compares religion to manure and rightly so. The problem is, however, that most of us are swimming in it. Religion leads to either pride or despair. It never leads to joy.
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Notes
Audio
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
October 7, 2012 | Philippians 2:12-30: The Joy of Sanctification
For more:
Driscoll on Consumers vs. Worshippers
April 3, 2011 | Matthew 12:1-21 - The Burden of Religion and the Rest of the Gospel
August 29, 2010 - Matthew 7:15-12: Watch for False Gospels
Final Week of Jesus: The Cleansing of Religion - Mark 11:12-20
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Notes
Audio
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
October 7, 2012 | Philippians 2:12-30: The Joy of Sanctification
For more:
Driscoll on Consumers vs. Worshippers
April 3, 2011 | Matthew 12:1-21 - The Burden of Religion and the Rest of the Gospel
August 29, 2010 - Matthew 7:15-12: Watch for False Gospels
Final Week of Jesus: The Cleansing of Religion - Mark 11:12-20
October 7, 2012 | Philippians 2:12-30: The Joy of Sanctification
If we are Christians, we will live like it. Pure and simple.
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.
Notes
Audio (currently unavailable)
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.
19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. 23 Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. 25 But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; 26 because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 27 For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. 29 Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.
Notes
Audio (currently unavailable)
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
September 30, 2012 | Philippians 2:5-11: The Joy of Holy Condescension
After exhorting the Philippians to be unified and to be humble, Paul then turns to the perfect example of Christ who condescended Himself by becoming a man and a man who was put on a cross. If we can grasp both the Incarnation and the Passion of Jesus, we would do ourselves some good. Christians, by name and nature, are called to imitate and to follow Christ. If we do that, we will find joy in the place called Unity and Humility and Obedience.
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Notes
Audio
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
For more:
Theology Sings: Thoughts on the Hymn of Philippians 2:5-11
Philippians 2:5-11 & Kenotic Theology
Book Recommendation: "Humility" by CJ Mahaney
Grudem on the Deity of Christ
The Gospel Coalition on the Deity of Christ
Mahaney on the Person and Work of Christ: Christ Our Mediator
Stomach Virus' and the Humanity of Christ: Moore on the Suffering and Sick Servant
Sayers on the Incarnation of Christ
If Jesus Were Born in Our Digital Age
December 26, 2010 - Jesus is Human
December 19, 2012 - Jesus is God
Basic Christianity: Daniel 4:29-37 - Humility Before God
Basic Christianity: James 4:1-10 - Humility Before Others
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Notes
Audio
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
For more:
Theology Sings: Thoughts on the Hymn of Philippians 2:5-11
Philippians 2:5-11 & Kenotic Theology
Book Recommendation: "Humility" by CJ Mahaney
Grudem on the Deity of Christ
The Gospel Coalition on the Deity of Christ
Mahaney on the Person and Work of Christ: Christ Our Mediator
Stomach Virus' and the Humanity of Christ: Moore on the Suffering and Sick Servant
Sayers on the Incarnation of Christ
If Jesus Were Born in Our Digital Age
December 26, 2010 - Jesus is Human
December 19, 2012 - Jesus is God
Basic Christianity: Daniel 4:29-37 - Humility Before God
Basic Christianity: James 4:1-10 - Humility Before Others
September 23, 2012 | Philippians 2:1-4: The Joy of Humility
Paul now shifts from looking specifically at his situation - in chains yet with joy - to the situation of the Philippians. He begins by exhorting the Philippians to be humble for the purpose of unity. Unity brings with it joy. Division brings with it chaos. Sin always divides. Bitterness, jealousy, envy, pride, anger, and malice all bring division thus robbing us of joy. Humility, on the other hand, brings unity and joy. This is an important message, not just for our homes and our work lives, but for our church. Will we love one another with a humble love reflective of Christ (particularly Christ on the cross) or will we be controlled by our selfish, divisive lust and demands?
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Notes
Audio (unavailable at this time)
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Notes
Audio (unavailable at this time)
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
September 16, 2012 | Philippians 1:19-30 - The Joy of the Future
I know I'm really behind, but here is the third sermon in our series looking at the book of Philippians. Here, Paul confronts the reality that he very well might be executed and yet he writes with joy. Like Paul, to live is Christ and to die is gain. We win regardless. If we are alive, let us live for Christ.
Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.
27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. 29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
Notes
Audio
Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.
27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. 29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
Notes
Audio
Friday, October 12, 2012
Theology Sings: Thoughts on the Hymn of Philippians 2:5-11
Sunday we discussed the important Christological passage of Paul in Philippians 2:5-11. Some scholars believe that Paul is quoting from or alluding to a Christian hymn that might predate Paul himself. This might sound like a mute point. After all, whether or not this passage of Scripture is melodic or not plays no real role in the interpretation of the text. Even without knowing that this could be an ancient church hymn or confession, on the surface, is irrelevant. The message remains the same.
But, assuming it is a hymn, is significant for our current context. If this is a hymn, and psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs flood Scripture, then there are a few things we ought to take away from it. Here is the three things I mentioned Sunday:
1. The Deity of Jesus is Not a Myth
Paul defends the full deity of Jesus here. His central argument regards humility, unity, joy, and obedience (vs. 1-4) and points us to the example of Christ. He emphasizes Christ's humility by first affirming His deity. Christ, being God, put on flesh assuming the role of a slave. This is a clear defense, or even automatic Christian assumption, of the deity of Christ.
If this is a hymn that predates the writing of this letter, then that key doctrine of the deity of Christ is very early. Passages like this (and 1 Corinthians 15:1ff) suggests that Christians have always believed that Jesus was God contradicting those who believe that there were a diversity of Christian beliefs or that Christ's deity was a later doctrine.
This means, then, what we believe about JC is not a myth or a legend, but is what Christians have always believed. It takes decades, if not centuries, for myths and legends to develop. If this is a hymn, then we can have an even firmer faith, that what we believe about Christ has always been believed by the faithful by Christ. Thus those who claim to be Christian and yet deny the full deity of Christ are believing in a myth and a legend that simply is not true.
Jesus Christ is God in flesh.
2. Theology is to be Sung
Worship songs & hymns that are simplistic, empty, or could be confused w/ a generic love song aren’t good enough. I'm sure you've sang those songs, whether contemporary or traditional, that are so generic you could sing them in the club, at the school dance, or at youth camp. "I love you yes I do" might be directed at God in your heart, but could easily be played at your wedding.
The truths of Scripture, of the gospel, and of Christ are to be extolled by the church. Too often we cheapen the these precious truths of our faith by simple songs that have no meat. Every time we see God in Scripture on His throne, we hear singing. The angels are singing without end in Isaiah 6 and the glorified believers in Revelation join the chorus. The reason is because the presence and truth of God leads to unending joy and celebration. But without a deep theology and a true knowledge of the Holy One, our worship will be bland and an emptying running through the motions.
Worship God in spirit and in truth. That can only happen when we know the Spirit and the Truth. Truth leads to worship.
3. Worship is a Time of Learning
Paul understands that worship moves the heart & transforms the mind, but too often we mouth the words without ever directing our thanksgiving & awe towards God. Nor do we ever allow the words to inform our thinking & understanding of the gospel.
I have had to start singing with my head down, not in prayer, but in reading. I have gotten so use to mouthing the words I've memorized after decades of singing the same songs that my mind is far away from the precious truths I am singing. Thus I am making myself to study the songs we sing that reveal what we are to believe - the gospel.
Let us not forsake the opportunity we have in worship. Worship is a time of celebration and of learning. A song that reflects the truths of Scripture and the gospel will arm us with a deeper knowledge of the Holy One and our simplistic, bottom shelf, lazy church could really use more insight into who God is.
Conclusion
This is all to say that we need to take worship more seriously. To my seminary friends who study the Puritans but don't sing like them do not truly love the gospel. To my congregation who gather with other believers on a Sunday morning failing to worship their Savior in spirit and truth have failed to be the church.
Theology matters and theology sings. Let us rejoice and praise the Lord.
For more:
Philippians 2:5-11 & Kenotic Theology
Book Recommendation: "Humility" by CJ Mahaney
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
Grudem on the Deity of Christ
The Gospel Coalition on the Deity of Christ
Mahaney on the Person and Work of Christ: Christ Our Mediator
Stomach Virus' and the Humanity of Christ: Moore on the Suffering and Sick Servant
Sayers on the Incarnation of Christ
If Jesus Were Born in Our Digital Age
December 26, 2010 - Jesus is Human
December 19, 2012 - Jesus is God
Basic Christianity: Daniel 4:29-37 - Humility Before God
Basic Christianity: James 4:1-10 - Humility Before Others
But, assuming it is a hymn, is significant for our current context. If this is a hymn, and psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs flood Scripture, then there are a few things we ought to take away from it. Here is the three things I mentioned Sunday:
1. The Deity of Jesus is Not a Myth
Paul defends the full deity of Jesus here. His central argument regards humility, unity, joy, and obedience (vs. 1-4) and points us to the example of Christ. He emphasizes Christ's humility by first affirming His deity. Christ, being God, put on flesh assuming the role of a slave. This is a clear defense, or even automatic Christian assumption, of the deity of Christ.
If this is a hymn that predates the writing of this letter, then that key doctrine of the deity of Christ is very early. Passages like this (and 1 Corinthians 15:1ff) suggests that Christians have always believed that Jesus was God contradicting those who believe that there were a diversity of Christian beliefs or that Christ's deity was a later doctrine.
This means, then, what we believe about JC is not a myth or a legend, but is what Christians have always believed. It takes decades, if not centuries, for myths and legends to develop. If this is a hymn, then we can have an even firmer faith, that what we believe about Christ has always been believed by the faithful by Christ. Thus those who claim to be Christian and yet deny the full deity of Christ are believing in a myth and a legend that simply is not true.
Jesus Christ is God in flesh.
2. Theology is to be Sung
Worship songs & hymns that are simplistic, empty, or could be confused w/ a generic love song aren’t good enough. I'm sure you've sang those songs, whether contemporary or traditional, that are so generic you could sing them in the club, at the school dance, or at youth camp. "I love you yes I do" might be directed at God in your heart, but could easily be played at your wedding.
The truths of Scripture, of the gospel, and of Christ are to be extolled by the church. Too often we cheapen the these precious truths of our faith by simple songs that have no meat. Every time we see God in Scripture on His throne, we hear singing. The angels are singing without end in Isaiah 6 and the glorified believers in Revelation join the chorus. The reason is because the presence and truth of God leads to unending joy and celebration. But without a deep theology and a true knowledge of the Holy One, our worship will be bland and an emptying running through the motions.
Worship God in spirit and in truth. That can only happen when we know the Spirit and the Truth. Truth leads to worship.
3. Worship is a Time of Learning
Paul understands that worship moves the heart & transforms the mind, but too often we mouth the words without ever directing our thanksgiving & awe towards God. Nor do we ever allow the words to inform our thinking & understanding of the gospel.
I have had to start singing with my head down, not in prayer, but in reading. I have gotten so use to mouthing the words I've memorized after decades of singing the same songs that my mind is far away from the precious truths I am singing. Thus I am making myself to study the songs we sing that reveal what we are to believe - the gospel.
Let us not forsake the opportunity we have in worship. Worship is a time of celebration and of learning. A song that reflects the truths of Scripture and the gospel will arm us with a deeper knowledge of the Holy One and our simplistic, bottom shelf, lazy church could really use more insight into who God is.
Conclusion
This is all to say that we need to take worship more seriously. To my seminary friends who study the Puritans but don't sing like them do not truly love the gospel. To my congregation who gather with other believers on a Sunday morning failing to worship their Savior in spirit and truth have failed to be the church.
Theology matters and theology sings. Let us rejoice and praise the Lord.
For more:
Philippians 2:5-11 & Kenotic Theology
Book Recommendation: "Humility" by CJ Mahaney
September 2, 2012 | Philippians 1:1-11 - The Joy of Thanksgiving & Prayer
Grudem on the Deity of Christ
The Gospel Coalition on the Deity of Christ
Mahaney on the Person and Work of Christ: Christ Our Mediator
Stomach Virus' and the Humanity of Christ: Moore on the Suffering and Sick Servant
Sayers on the Incarnation of Christ
If Jesus Were Born in Our Digital Age
December 26, 2010 - Jesus is Human
December 19, 2012 - Jesus is God
Basic Christianity: Daniel 4:29-37 - Humility Before God
Basic Christianity: James 4:1-10 - Humility Before Others
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