LUTHER INSISTED

Luther recovered the gospel, and thereby instituted a truly evangelical revival, when he broke free from the Medieval-Scholastic Nature/Grace metaphysical scheme. In his significant breakthrough insight, faith was no longer understood by him as a natural preparation for grace, as the fulfillment of a condition for receiving supernatural grace by the performance of something that was within man's natural capacity to do. The soteriological scheme of Scholastic theology was synergistic, because Pelagian: God responded to man; man cooperated with God according to his native ability.

Against this Pelagian synergism, Luther insisted on total inability: the utter incapacitation and absolute impotence of the natural man in abject bondage to sin. Faith therefore could not be a condition for grace, for it could not be exercised out of inherently human resources as a natural act performed of sinful man's own initiative for the purpose of man's fitting and preparing himself to be a suitable candidate for receiving grace. Faith itself could only be the result of a prevening supernatural act; it was a free gift of divine grace, resulting entirely from God's unconditioned, monergistic action.

Justification thus was not obtained because of faith, merely through faith—a faith wrought in us. Rather than a cooperation of Nature and Grace (the synergism of mutual effort by both God and man), God acts unilaterally and exclusively, taking the sole initiative in a free act of sovereign grace—grace that is altogether prior to, and productive of, justifying faith. The sola fide arises out of, and is nothing other than, sola gratia.

- Joseph P. Braswell

courtesy: www.reformationtheology.com

CONFESSING CHRIST

“True, those who confess Christ, shall be confessed by him; and it is as true, that this confession is equivalent to a promise of salvation. But you must know, that professing Christ, is not confessing him: for to profess Christ is one thing—to confess Christ is another.

Confession is a living testimony for Christ, in a time when religion suffers. Profession may be only a lifeless formality, in a time when religion prospers. To confess Christ, is to choose his ways, and own them. To profess Christ, is to plead for his ways—and yet not live in them. Profession may be from a feigned love to the ways of Christ; but confession is from a rooted love to the person of Christ.

To profess Christ, is to own him when none deny him; to confess Christ, is to plead for him, and suffer for him, when others oppose him. Hypocrites may be professors; but the martyrs are the true confessors. Profession is a swimming down the stream. Confession is a swimming against the stream. Now many may swim with the stream, like the dead fish—which cannot swim against the stream, with the living fish. Many may profess Christ, who cannot confess Christ; but in the end, notwithstanding their profession, such as those will be found to be not true Christians.”

- Matthew Meade

I CANNOT

"I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, elightened me with His gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith."

-Martin Luther, on Monergism, from his small catechism

NONE EFFECT

"To suppose that whatever God requireth of us that we have power of ourselves to do, is to make the cross and grace of Jesus Christ of none effect."

-John Owen

CONTRIBUTION

"God has certainly promised His grace to the humbled: that is, to those who mourn over and despair of themselves. But a man cannot be thoroughly humbled till he realises that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsels, efforts, will and works, and depends absolutely on the will, counsel, pleasure and work of Another - God alone. As long as he is persuaded that he can make even the smallest contribution to his salvation, he remains self-confident and does not utterly despair of himself, and so is not humbled before God; but plans for himself (or at least hopes and longs for) a position, and occasion, a work, which shall bring him final salvation. But he who is out of doubt that his destiny depends entirely on the will of God despairs entirely of himself, chooses nothing for himself, but waits for God to work in him; and such a man is very near to grace for salvation."

-Martin Luther

FROM SIN

"The nature of Christ's Salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day evangelist. He announces a Saviour from Hell rather than a Saviour from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the lake of fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness."

-A.W Pink

HUMBLED

If you are not humbled by what Christ has done then you are making an idol of yourself.

-- Nick Napier

AM HIS

“Jesus Christ is mine. I can with the greatest confidence and boldness affirm it. He is my Head, my Husband, my Lord, my Redeemer, my Justifier, my Saviour. And I am His. I am as sure that I am His, as I am sure that I live. I am His by purchase and I am His by conquest; I am His by donation and I am His by election; I am His by covenant and I am His by marriage; I am wholly His; I am peculiarly His; I am universally His; I am eternally His.”

–Thomas Brooks, Heaven on Earth, in The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks, Ed. Alexander B. Grosart (Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1866), 2:320.

NOTHING ELSE

If Christ is risen then nothing else matters. If Christ is not risen, then nothing else matters.

-- Nick Napier

HEAVENWARD

"Severe trouble in a true believer has the effect of loosening the roots of his soul earthward and tightening the anchor-hold of his heart heavenward."

-- C.H. Spurgeon

TRUTH BASIS

"The promotion of unity at the expense of truth is satanic; it is demonic; it is not true unity. It is not the unity of the Holy Spirit for He is the Spirit of Truth. The Scriptural command which we have in Ephesians to promote the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace is given to those who have a common foundation of truth. Truth by its very nature divides.Where you have appeal to unity at the expense of truth all you can produce is uniformity."

- William Webster

CROSS CROSS

Away, then, with those prophets who say to Christ's people, "Peace, peace," where in there is no peace. Hail, hail to all those prophets who say to Christ's people, "The cross, the cross," where there is no cross. Christians should be exhorted to be zealous to follow Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hells; And let them thus be more confident of entering heaven through many tribulations rather than through a false assurance of peace.

- Martin Luther (Theses 92-95)

BORN BEFORE

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” (1 John 5:1)

“The combination of present tense (believes) and perfect tense [has been born] is important. It shows clearly that believing is the consequence, not the cause, of the new birth. Our present, continuing activity of believing is the result, and therefore, the evidence, of our past experience of the new birth by which we became and remain God’s children.”

- John Stott, The Letters of John

ENJOYMENT

Discerning Idolatry in Desire

12 Ways to Recognize the Rise of Covetousness

Download:

---

By John Piper June 17, 2009

---

Most of us realize that enjoying anything other than God, from the best gift to the basest pleasure, can become idolatry. Paul says in Colossians 3:5, “Covetousness is idolatry.”

“Covetousness” means desiring something other than God in the wrong way. But what does that mean—“in the wrong way”?

The reason this matters is both vertical and horizontal. Idolatry will destroy our relationship with God. And it will destroy our relationships with people.

All human relational problems—from marriage and family to friendship to neighbors to classmates to colleagues—all of them are rooted in various forms of idolatry, that is, wanting things other than God in wrong ways.

So here is my effort to think biblically about what those wrong ways are. What makes an enjoyment idolatrous? What turns a desire into covetousness, which is idolatry?

1. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is forbidden by God. For example, adultery and fornication and stealing and lying are forbidden by God. Some people at some times feel that these are pleasurable, or else we would not do them. No one sins out of duty. But such pleasure is a sign of idolatry.
2. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is disproportionate to the worth of what is desired. Great desire for non-great things is a sign that we are beginning to make those things idols.
3. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is not permeated with gratitude. When our enjoyment of something tends to make us not think of God, it is moving toward idolatry. But if the enjoyment gives rise to the feeling of gratefulness to God, we are being protected from idolatry. The grateful feeling that we don’t deserve this gift or this enjoyment, but have it freely from God’s grace, is evidence that idolatry is being checked.
4. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it does not see in God’s gift that God himself is more to be desired than the gift. If the gift is not awakening a sense that God, the Giver, is better than the gift, it is becoming an idol.
5. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is starting to feel like a right, and our delight is becoming a demand. It may be that the delight is right. It may be that another person ought to give you this delight. It may be right to tell them this. But when all this rises to the level of angry demands, idolatry is rising.
6. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it draws us away from our duties. When we find ourselves spending time pursuing an enjoyment, knowing that other things, or people, should be getting our attention, we are moving into idolatry.
7. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it awakens a sense of pride that we can experience this delight while others can’t. This is especially true of delights in religious things, like prayer and Bible reading and ministry. It is wonderful to enjoy holy things. It idolatrous to feel proud that we can.
8. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is oblivious or callous to the needs and desires of others. Holy enjoyment is aware of others’ needs and may temporarily leave a good pleasure to help another person have it. One might leave private prayer to be the answer to someone else’s.
9. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it does not desire that Christ be magnified as supremely desirable through the enjoyment. Enjoying anything but Christ (like his good gifts) runs the inevitable risk of magnifying the gift over the Giver. One evidence that idolatry is not happening is the earnest desire that this not happen.
   
10. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is not working a deeper capacity for holy delight. We are sinners still. It is idolatrous to be content with sin. So we desire transformation. Some enjoyments shrink our capacities of holy joy. Others enlarge them. Some go either way, depending on how we think about them. When we don’t care if an enjoyment is making us more holy, we are moving into idolatry.
11. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when its loss ruins our trust in the goodness of God. There can be sorrow at loss without being idolatrous. But when the sorrow threatens our confidence in God, it signals that the thing lost was becoming an idol.
    
12. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when its loss paralyzes us emotionally so that we can’t relate lovingly to other people. This is the horizontal effect of losing confidence in God. Again: Great sorrow is no sure sign of idolatry. Jesus had great sorrow. But when desire is denied, and the effect is the emotional inability to do what God calls us to do, the warning signs of idolatry are flashing.

For myself and for you, I pray the admonition of 1 John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

---

© Desiring God

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringgod.

STRENGTH

"Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength." Charles H Spurgeon

PROCLAIM

"Someone asked, 'Will the heathen who have never heard the gospel be saved?' It is more a question with me whether we-- who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not-- can be saved." -Charles Spurgeon

DEPRAVITY

A warning:
To believe one possesses some volitional will to assent to the truth of the Scriptures despite their clear teachings is to assume one can believe without any initiative by God, that is, one is performing a work to save oneself. But the Scriptures are clear, in that the unsaved:

* is deceitful and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9).
* is full of evil (Mark 7:21-23).
* loves darkness rather than light (John 3:19).
* is unrighteous, does not understand, does not seek for God (Rom. 3:10-12).
* is helpless and ungodly (Rom. 5:6).
* is dead in his trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1).
* is by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3).
* cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14).
* is a slave of sin (Rom. 6:16-20).

We are not “born again” as a result of something we have done, but solely on the basis of God’s sovereign will and power.

Soli Deo Gloria!

BEST QUOTE

The Voice of the Martyrs - USA

A Christian in a Muslim country, describing his time in solitary confinement: "It was like Jesus put the whole world aside and came to spend time with me."

ORTHODOX

Orthodox Theology without Christ is not Orthodox and it is not intellectual at all.

ALL COSTS

"Peace if possible; Truth at all costs"

-- Martin Luther

DIFFERENCE

I do not make "the difference" in any proclamation of Jesus. Only God can make the difference. The difference made, may be God's direct purpose to harden the mind and heart in the listener.

God doesn't need my help.

Do not be so fretful in laboring to "make a difference, be heard, and be validated" whether among the lost or among the sheep. Such fretting makes an idol of your labor and your impact; Rather be focused on loving God, trusting God, praising God, seeking God, knowing God, and honoring God in the prizing of Jesus: the Prophet, Priest, King, Messiah, Savior, Lord, and Risen Lamb;

In these things it will be impossible for you to be silent before mankind, just as children shout upon seeing newly revealed candy. Thus others will certainly hear of your thankfulness to God in Jesus, by the sheer fact you are amazed with Christ; Their response to your heaven-ward gaze and heaven-ward joy is irrelevant and never a basis for that joy itself. (Just as the kids joy is always for the candy, not the reactions of the adults in the room who may ignore that candy and shout itself).

Yes you will rejoice if souls are drawn to Christ, but you will also rejoice when Christ is victorious and vindicated over His foes. David gloried over Goliath, and John presents a greater glory in Revelation.

PROVIDENCE VS. PROMISES

If you judge God by providence rather than promises, your faith may become unhinged (Winslow)

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. 11Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. [Ps 27:10-11]

BORN BY THE SPIRIT

"Sinner I warn thee thou canst never cause thyself to be born again, and though the new birth is absolutely necessary, it is absolutely impossible to thee---unless God the Spirit shall do it." - C. H. Spurgeon

I CAN, I CAN, I CAN

"What the Arminian wants to do is to arouse man's activity: what we want to do is to kill it once for all---to show him that he is lost and ruined, and that his activities are not now at all equal to the work of conversion; that he must look upward. They seek to make the man stand up: we seek to bring him down, and make him feel that there he lies in the hand of God..." - C H. Spurgeon



"...and that his business is to submit himself to God, and cry aloud, 'Lord, save, or we perish.' We hold that man is never so near grace as when he begins to feel he can do nothing at all. When he says, 'I can pray, I can believe, I can do this, and I can do the other,' marks of self-sufficiency and arrogance are on his brow." - C. H. Spurgeon

INFINITE SACRIFICE

Any sin, is infinitely sinful. Therefore any sin deserves infinite punishment because we have sinned against an infinite God. The only way out of our deserved infinite punishment is through an infinite sacrifice. An infinite God is the only one who can make that infinite sacrifice. Jesus was that infinite sacrifice; A sacrifice sufficient for all but effecient only for those who believe.

ALIVE VIDEO

MUCH OF YOU

TROUBLEMAKER

JESUS IS ALIVE

SHAI LINNE JESUS IS ALIVE (HOUSE OF TEA REMIX) LYRICS

(Chorus 1)

Elvis is dead, Picasso is dead
Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin are dead
Marilyn Monroe is dead- however…
Jesus is Alive

Brando is dead, James Brown is dead
Princess Di and John Lennon are dead
Biggie and Pac are dead- however
Jesus is Alive

Verse 1

Give praise to King Jesus, the blessed Son
Victorious, glorious resurrected One
To Him belongs the power, glory and honor
Ascended where He sits at the right hand of the Father
At the cross He made atonement- His people He saved
After three days He was raised in defeat of the grave
By faith the elect behold Him, His scepter is golden
He must have been hot or slippery because death couldn’t hold Him
The spotlight is on today’s icons
In a thousand years, nobody will care- their light’s gone
But at that time, Christ will still shine bright
He’s not in the limelight- He IS the limelight
Criminal minded, you’ve been blinded
Looking for the body of Jesus? You won’t find it
We never lack spirit, letting you cats hear it
Because His tomb is empty like most secular rap lyrics

(Chorus 2)

Plato is dead, Socrates is dead
Aristotle and Immanuel Kant are dead
Neitzsche and Darwin are dead- however
Jesus is Alive

Buddha is dead, Mohammed is dead
Ghandi and Haile Selassie are dead
Elijah Mohammed is dead- however
Jesus is Alive

Verse 2

Throughout history there’s been mad religious leaders
Prophets, preachers, scholars, teachers
But when it came to the grave, no one could climb out
That’s where Jesus stands alone like taking a ‘timeout’
And don’t be mislead- I got a level head
No resurrection, Christianity would have never spread
The disciples weren’t stupid guys who would ruin their lives
And then choose to die for what they knew was a lie
That would be beyond ridiculous- Nah, the issue is
The risen Christ seen by 500 eye-witnesses
Imagine 500 people in a court of law
Each of them taking the stand reporting what they saw
If their stories lined up and made sense
The evidence would have to leave you convinced
But still it’s by faith that we trust and praise the Son
Who was raised for our justification

(Chorus 3)

Nero is dead, Constantine is dead
Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun are dead
Alexander the Great is dead- however
Jesus is Alive

Napoleon is dead, Lao Tzu is dead
Che Guevara and Henry VIII are dead
Saddam Hussein is dead- however
Jesus is Alive

Verse 3

Through faith in Christ, we’ve been saved from hell
Because He’s risen, it means we’ll be raised as well
In glorified bodies fit for the new earth
For now, we participate in the new birth
The universal reality of the true church
With resurrection power, watch the Spirit do work!
United with Christ, we reside in His light
Abide in His might, keep in stride as we fight
The pride in our life, the lies and the spite
We strive to be wise as He guides through the night
He’ll chide and He’ll slice- recognize that He’s right
His brightness inside lights our eyes and it’s tight
(He) decided to die to wash white all our strife
His life was the price to delight in His wife
He told death “sike” just to rise like a kite
All eyes on the Christ- let’s prize Him tonight

(Chorus 4)

Pharaoh is dead, Cyrus is dead
Darius and Sennacharib are dead
Nebuchadnezzar is dead- however
Jesus is Alive

Caesar is dead, Herod is dead
Annas, Caiaphas and Judas are dead
Pontius Pilate is dead- however
Jesus is Alive

MEN FLEE

by R.C. Sproul

How many times have you heard Christians say (or heard the words from your own mouth), "So-and-so is not a Christian but he's searching"? It is a common statement among Christians. The idea is that there are people all over the place who are searching for God. Their problem is that they just haven't been able to find Him. He is playing hide-and-seek. He is elusive.

In the Garden of Eden, when sin came into the world, who hid? Jesus came into the world to seek and to save the lost. Jesus wasn't the one who was hiding. God is not a fugitive. We are the ones on the run. Scripture declares that the wicked flee when no man pursues. As Martin Luther remarked: "The pagan trembles at the rustling of a leaf. The uniform teaching of Scripture is that fallen men are fleeing from God."

People do not seek God. They seek after the benefits that only God can give them. The sin of fallen man is this: Man seeks the benefits of God while fleeing from God Himself. We are, by nature, fugitives.

The Bible tells us repeatedly to seek after God. The conclusion we draw from these texts is that since we are called to seek after God it must mean that we, even in our fallen state, have the moral capacity to do that seeking. But who is being addressed in these texts? In the case of the Old Testament, it is the people of Israel who are called to seek the Lord. In the New Testament, it is believers who are called to seek the kingdom.

Are you seeking the benefits God can give you or seeking after God alone?

ASCENDED KING

SAVED FROM SIN

"Christ will be Master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy then your life is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Saviour will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without Holiness, no man shall see the Lord."

-Charles Spurgeon

FREE WILL VIDEO

NEVER COME

He will never come to Christ!

(Arthur Pink, "The Sovereignty of God") (taken from gracegems.org

"You will not come to Me--that you might have life." John 5:40

"No one can come to Me--unless the Father who sent Me draws him." John 6:44

Why is it, that no one can come to Christ unless he is 'drawn'? The answer is, Because his wicked heart loves sin--and hates Christ! The heart of the every man is so "desperately wicked" that if he is left to himself--he will never come to Christ!

For the sinner to come to Christ that he might have life, is for him . . .
to realize the awful danger of his situation;
to see that the sword of Divine justice is suspended over his head;
to awaken to the fact that there is but a step between him and death, and that after death is the 'judgment'! And in consequence of this discovery, to earnestly strive . . .
to flee from the wrath to come,
to cry unto God for mercy, and
to agonize to enter in at the 'strait gate'!

To come to Christ for life, is for the sinner . . .
to feel and acknowledge that he is utterly destitute of any claim upon God's favor;
to see himself as 'without strength,' lost and undone;
to admit that he is deserving of nothing but eternal wrath, thus taking side with God against himself;
to cast himself into the dust before God, and humbly sue for Divine mercy.

To come to Christ for life, is for the sinner . . .
to abandon his own righteousness;
to disown his own wisdom--and be guided by Jesus;
to repudiate his own will--and be ruled by Jesus;
to unreservedly receive the Lord Jesus as his Savior and Lord, as his All in all.

Such, in part and in brief, is what is implied and involved in "coming to Christ." But is the sinner willing to take such an attitude before God? No! For in the first place, he does not realize the danger of his situation, and in consequence makes no earnest attempt to escape. Instead, men are for the most part at ease, and whenever they are disturbed by the alarms of conscience or the dispensations of providence, they flee to any other refuge but Christ!

They will not acknowledge that all their 'good works' are as filthy rags but, like the Pharisee, will thank God they are not as bad as other heinous sinners.

They are not ready to receive Christ as their Lord--for they are unwilling to part with their idols! They had rather hazard their soul's eternal welfare--than give them up!

Hence we say that, if left to himself, the natural man is so depraved at heart--that he has no moral and spiritual ability to come to Christ!

"The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God!" Romans 8:7, 8

KILL SIN

Let no man think to kill sin with few, easy, or gentle strokes. He who hath once smitten a serpent, if he follow not on his blow until it be slain, may repent that ever he began the quarrel. And so he who undertakes to deal with sin, and pursues it not constantly to the death.

John Owen

ABIDE IN PRAYER

If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation. Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession: "God, preserve my soul, and keep my heart and all its ways so that I will not be entangled." When this is true in our lives, a passing temptation will not overcome us. We will remain free while others lie in bondage.

John Owen

FIT OBJECT

A "god" whose will is resisted, whose designs are frustrated, whose purpose is checkmated, possesses no title to Deity, and so far from being a fit object of worship, merits nought but contempt.-A. W. Pink

TIME WITH

"some of us need to spend less time with the work of the Lord and more time with the Lord of the work."

VICTORY SONG

EVERY SECOND

Every second we are desiring something, is it Christ and Him glorified. Every second we are honoring something, is it Christ and Him enthroned. Every second we are serving someone, is it Christ, or self. Every moment we are pleasing to someone, is it Christ and your new heart in Christ, or the old nature of sin.

FINALLY ALIVE

Religious fakes were no surprise to Jesus. They do not contradict the new birth. They confirm it. Reformation cannot change vipers. They need regeneration.

A paraphrase of John Piper's "Finally Alive" book. page. 191. Great Book!!! Highly Recommended.

FIXED EYE

"Some of you have truly been brought by God to believe in Jesus. Yet you have no abiding peace, and very little growth in holiness. Why is this? It is because your eye is fixed anywhere but on Christ. You are so busy looking at books, or looking at men, or looking at the world, that you have no time, no heart, for looking at Christ. No wonder you have little peace and joy in believing..."

- Robert Murray M'Cheyne

PAUL WASHER VID1

MADE ALIVE

"No man ever made himself to live. No preacher, however earnest, can make one hearer to live. No parent, however prayerful, no teacher, however tearful, can make a child live unto God. “You hath HE quickened,” is true of all who are quickened."

- C. H. Spurgeon

ONLY MATERIAL

Writing Christian materials and studies is wonderfully rewarding, yet looking back at the paper and ink, it can NEVER satisfy or fulfill the Christian, which only comes through knowing and praising King Jesus, full of Glory, Honor, Majesty, Holiness, and Grace.

IN MAN

Right after stating that Jesus "knew what was in a man," John.... writes, "Now there was a man," that is, Nicodemus, who comes to visit with Jesus.

-- Vincent Cheung

PISTEUWN

CANNOT OBEY

"Sinners cannot obey the gospel, any more than the law, without renewal of heart."

- J.I. Packer

"The saving power of the cross does not depend on faith being addded to it; its saving power is such that faith flows from it"

- J.I. Packer.

WORTHY LAMB

ABANDONED Part 3 of 3

ABANDONED Part 2 of 3

ABANDONED Part 1 of 3

ABANDONED BY GOD

HEART PRAYER

"When you pray, better your heart be without words than your words without a heart"

-John Bunyan

WASHER, EVERYTHING

MOTIVE

If we have a wrong motive for an action, the solution is not to just scrap the action, but rather change the motive and thereafter provide the action.

JOY SOURCE

" The joy of every believer will come from one thing: embracing the sovereignty, supremacy, and sufficiency of God in all things and recognizing that every promise is true and has the character and integrity of God behind it."

Rev. Fred Spivey

NORM

DEVIL'S ROLE

MY WORD

“Their speech is filled with flattery.” (Psalm 5:9)

This is the identifying mark of the “hireling,” the false pastor. He aims at pleasing his hearers, making them feel satisfied with themselves, ever patting them on the back.

“But he who has My Word–let him speak My Word faithfully” (Jeremiah 23:28), no matter how unpalatable it may be to the flesh, how much of a weariness to those who wish to have their ears tickled with novelties, or how loud the outcry against it is!

Ministerial faithfulness includes loyalty to his Master, devotion to His interests, steadfast adherence to the preaching of His Word, dispensing the Truth unto those whose souls are committed to Him–not mixing it with his speculations, much less substituting false doctrine. A far higher motive than the pleasing of his hearers must actuate and regulate ministerial service. Faithful preaching will render the minister unpopular, and will ‘empty’ churches — not ‘fill’ them!

“Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Souls are caught fast in the meshes of Satan’s lies–and nothing but the sword of God’s Truth can cut them free! “A faithful man–who can find?” (Proverbs 20:6). Why is this? Because it is the part of fallen human nature to take the line of least resistance, and choose the path easiest to the flesh. But remember, my reader, whoever you are, that, “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord; but those who deal ‘faithfully’ are His delight.” (Proverbs 12:22)

“Be faithful unto death–and I will give you a crown of life!” (Revelation 2:10)

taken from: http://www.symphonyofscripture.com/?p=1523

DUTY JOY

Disciplined Duty vs the Lie of Legalism

By John Piper | The hard truth is that most Christians don’t pray very much. They pray at meals—unless they’re still stuck in the adolescent stage of calling good habits legalism. They whisper prayers before tough meetings. They say something brief as they crawl into bed. But very few set aside set times to pray alone—and fewer still think it is worth it to meet with others to pray. And we wonder why our faith is weak. And our hope is feeble. And our passion for Christ is small.

And meanwhile the devil is whispering all over this room: “The pastor is getting legalistic now. He’s starting to use guilt now. He’s getting out the law now.” To which I say, “To hell with the devil and all of his destructive lies. Be free!” Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? . . . Is it a discipline?

You can call it that.

• It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater.
• It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers.
• It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns.
• It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food.
• It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water.
• It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid.
• It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin.
• It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey.
• It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

I hate the devil, and the way he is killing some of you by persuading you it is legalistic to be as regular in your prayers as you are in your eating and sleeping and Internet use. Do you not see what a sucker he his making out of you? He is laughing up his sleeve at how easy it is to deceive Christians about the importance of prayer.

God has given us means of grace. If we do not use them to their fullest advantage, our complaints against him will not stick. If we don’t eat, we starve. If we don’t drink, we get dehydrated. If we don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies. If we don’t breathe, we suffocate. And just as there are physical means of life, there spiritual are means of grace. Resist the lies of the devil in 2009, and get a bigger breakthrough in prayer than you’ve ever had.

taken from http://www.symphonyofscripture.com/?p=1512

BOOK ON CALVIN

CERTAIN CALUMNY

"The more prominent you are in Christ's service, the more certain are you to be the butt of calumny. I have long ago said farewell to my character. I lost it in the earlier days of my ministry by being a little more zealous than suited a slumbering age. And I have never been able to regain it except in the sight of him who judges all the earth, and in the hearts of those who love me for my work's and in the hearts of those who love me for my work's sake."

-- Charles Spurgeon.

SHARING

DEBASED MIND

To host a formal debate with an atheist is akin to hosting a formal debate with a serial rapist or serial killer, the mind is debased, and rational thought cannot be shared.

MAGNIFY GOD

"Do not Magnify your problems, Magnify your God"

CONTRIVED

John Calvin said of 2 Corinthians 4:12

“…it was unseemly that the Corinthians should live happily, and in accordance with their desire, and that they should, free from anxiety, take their ease, while in the mean time Paul was struggling with incessant hardships. Such an allotment would certainly have been exceedingly unreasonable. It was also necessary that the folly of the Corinthians should be reproved, inasmuch as they contrived to themselves a Christianity without the cross, and, not content with this, held in contempt the servants of Christ, because they were not so effeminate.”

ABASED

John Calvin said of 2 Corinthians 4:7

"...it is ordered by the special Providence of God, that there should be in ministers no appearance of excellence, lest any thing of distinction should throw the power of God into the shade. As, therefore, the abasement of ministers, and the outward contempt of their persons give occasion for glory accruing to God, that man acts a wicked part, who measures the dignity of the gospel by the person of the minister.”

NO SCAR

Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land;
I hear them hail thy bright, ascendant star.
Hast thou no scar?

Hast thou no wound?
Yet I was wounded by the archers; spent,
Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned.
Hast thou no wound?

No wound? No scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And piercèd are the feet that follow Me.
But thine are whole; can he have followed far
Who hast no wound or scar?

BY AMY CARMICHAEL,

IRISH MISSIONARY TO INDIA FOR 55 YEARS

WE MIND NOT

We mind not the things seen, whether affliction or refreshment come, so as to be seduced by the latter, or deterred by the former

-- Chrysostom

ABANDONED TEXT

HAS GOD ABANDONED EVANGELICALISM?

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Feb 26, 2009 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Features

In his 2007 sermon A Nation Abandoned by God Dr. John MacArthur, one of the finest teachers of the Bible in our gelatinous generation, says:

One of the most tragic scenes in the Bible and yet one of the most familiar to us is the scene of the strongest man who ever lived, a man by the name of Samson, finding out he had no strength. Judges chapter 16 records this. “When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines saying, ‘Come up once more, for he’s told me all that is in his heart.’ Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands and she made him sleep on her knees, called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him and his strength left him. And she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson,” and he woke from his sleep and said, ‘I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.’” And here’s the telling line written by God the Holy Spirit. “But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. So the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, brought him down to Gaza, bound him with bronze chains and he became a grinder in the prison.” Sad. He didn’t know that the Lord had departed from him. I can’t imagine anything worse than being abandoned by God.

To the sons of Israel earlier in the book of Judges in chapter 10, God said this, “You have forsaken me, you have served other gods, therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your distress.” This was God saying to Israel, “I’m done with you, abandoned by God.

Proverbs chapter 1 records a similar sentiment. “Because I called and you refused, I stretched out My hands and no one paid attention. You neglected all my counsel, you did not want my reproof, I will even laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind. When distress and anguish come on you, then they will call on Me but I will not answer. They will seek Me diligently, they will not find Me because they hated knowledge, did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would not accept My counsel, they spurned all My reproof, so they will eat of the fruit of their own way and be satisfied with their own devices.” Again being abandoned by God, turned over to the inevitable consequences of sinful choices.

A haunting line is found tucked away in the little prophecy of Hosea chapter 4 and verse 17, and it refers to Israel by the name Ephraim and it says this, “Ephraim is joined to idols,” so says God. The next line, “Leave him alone.” Sounds out of character for God, doesn’t it? “Ephraim is joined to idols, bring him back,” might sound a little more like God. “Let him alone?”

People and nations, even the covenant nation Israel can come to a point where they are abandoned by God. Jesus reiterated this in Matthew 15 when He confronted the Pharisees and then described them to the disciples. He said this, “They’re blind leaders of the blind. Let them alone.” When God lets you go, it’s serious. When Jesus pronounces over you abandonment, it’s serious.

Now I’m going to say something, you’re going to have to hold on to your seat a little bit. I’m convinced beyond doubt that in this same sense, God has abandoned America. (Online source)

taken from....http://apprising.org/2009/02/has-god-abandoned-evangelicalism/

UNITED BY FAITH

A Crucial Word from Machen's Mother

February 23, 2009 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

J. Gresham Machen, one of the great proclaimers and defenders of the Christian faith in the early 20th century, went through a season of fearful doubt on his way to solid confidence. Remarkably, it was his mother who spoke one of the decisive words of rescue. He tells the story:

The question is not merely whether we can rest in our faith, but whether we can rest in the doubt that is the necessary alternative of faith. We pass sometimes through periods of very low spiritual vitality. The wonderful gospel which formerly seemed to be so glorious comes to seem almost like an idle tale. Hosts of objections arise in our minds; the whole unseen world recedes in the dim distance, and we think for the moment that we have relinquished the Christian hope....

My mother [spoke to me] in those dark hours when the lamp burned dim, when I thought that faith was gone and shipwreck had been made of my soul. “Christ,” she used to say, “keeps firmer hold on us than we keep on him.”

My mother’s word meant...that salvation by faith does not mean that we are saved because we keep ourselves at every moment in an ideally perfect attitude of confidence in Christ. No, we are saved because having once been united to Christ by faith, we are his forever. Calvinism is a very comforting doctrine indeed. Without its comfort, I think I should have perished long ago in the castle of Giant Despair. (J. Gresham Machen: Selected Shorter Writings, 561)

taken from http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1646_A_Crucial_Word_from_Machens_Mother/

MOURNING

ARE YOU MOURNING AS CHRIST COMMANDS?

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Feb 21, 2009 in Devotions

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4, NASB)

Two critical determinants will tell if you are mourning over sin as Jesus commands. First, you will have a true sensitivity to and sorrow for your sins. Your prayer concern will be how your sin detracts from God’s glory, not how its exposure might embarrass you or hurt your reputation.

The mock piety of hypocrites demonstrates no sensitivity to sin, only to their personal prestige and pride (cf. Matt. 6:1-18). Likewise, the mock gratitude of those like the Pharisees who think they are better than others (cf. Luke 18:11) certainly does not show mourning for sin. King Saul twice admitted he had sinned when he did not destroy King Agag and all the Amalekites, and even asked Samuel for pardon, but he was more concerned for his own honor than God’s (1 Sam. 15:10-35).

If your mourning is godly, you will lament the sins of other believers and the world, as well as your own. You will agree with the Psalmist, “My eyes shed streams of water, because they do not keep Your law” (Psalm 119:136). You will weep over your own community as Jesus did over His (Luke 19:41).

The second way to know if you are mourning rightly is to check your sense of God’s forgiveness. Have you expected the sense of spiritual freedom and real release that comes with knowing your sins are forgiven? Can you point to true happiness, peace, and joy in your life that only God gives in response to mourning for sin (cf. Ps. 126:5-6)?

Ask Yourself

What is your main problem with sin—only that it gives you that sick feeling of guilt and hypocrisy? Only that it seems to expose you around those who know you best? Take all the personal inconveniences out of the equation, and be more gravely concerned that your sin offends the God you profess to serve. (John MacArthur, Daily readings from the Life of Christ, February 21)

taken from http://apprising.org/2009/02/are-you-mourning-as-christ-commands/

TEN THOUSAND YEARS

TOTAL PRAISE

ART AZURDIA SERMON JAM

MUTE CHRISTIAN

("The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod"
or, "The Silent Soul with Sovereign Antidotes"
by Thomas Brooks, 1659, London.)

"The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and
punishes every son whom He receives."
Hebrews 12:6

"Why should any living man complain--when
punished for his sins?" Lamentations 3:39

He who has deserved a hanging--has no
reason to charge the judge with cruelty--if
he escapes with a whipping!

And we who have deserved a damning--have
no reason to charge God for being too severe
--if we escape with a fatherly lashing!

"God disciplines us for our good---that we
may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10

PROPER QUESTION

DIVINE RETRIBUTION, Part 1

Instead of posting the entire series in one day I hope to just add one segment per day so one will not be tempted to skip a segment as feeling overwhelmed by too many videos.

LOOK GREAT

CAN IT BE

TO WORSHIP

WE FALL DOWN

YOU ARE HOLY (PRINCE OF PEACE)

I don't agree with every singer I post, but this song is great and the lyrics are awesome; may we be granted the grace to enjoy the message and sing in to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

AWAKEN EARNEST PRAYER

DEVIL DEFEATS

GOD IS DANGEROUS

NOT SMOOTH

Do not expect a smooth and easy path!

(Arthur Pink, "David's Flight")
Prosperity is often a mixed blessing, and adversity is far from being an unmixed calamity!

Alternating spiritual prosperity and adversity, is the lot of God's people on this earth. All is not unclouded sunshine with them--nor is it unrelieved gloom and storm. There is a mingling of both:
joys--and sorrows;
victories--and defeats;
assistance from friends--and injuries from foes;
smiles from the Lord's countenance--and the hidings of His face.

By such changes, opportunities are afforded for the development and exercise of different graces, so that we may, in our measure, "know how to be abased--and how to abound . . . both to be full--and to be empty" (Phil. 4:12). But above all, that we may, amid varying circumstances, prove the unchanging faithfulness of God--and His sufficiency to supply our every need.

Ah, my reader, if you are one of God's elect--do not expect a smooth and easy path through this earthly wilderness--but be prepared for varying circumstances and drastic changes. The Christian's resting place is not in this world, for "here have we no continuing city" (Hebrews 13:14). The Christian is a "pilgrim," on a journey; he is a "soldier," called on to fight the good fight of faith. The more this is realized, the less keen will be the disappointment, when our ease is disturbed, and our outward peace harshly broken in upon.

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous," and if 'troubles' do not come to us in one form--they most certainly will in another! If we really appropriate this promise--then we shall not be so staggered when afflictions come upon us. It is written that, "it is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22), and therefore we should make up our minds to expect the same, and to "not to think it strange" (1 Peter 4:12) when we are called upon to pass through "the fiery trial." Affliction, tribulation, and fiery trial--are a times, our portion here on earth.

2 Peter 3:9 Cross Talk

2 Peter 3:9 MEANS WHAT

SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

INTRODUCTION

Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? That God reigns supreme in Heaven is generally conceded; that He does so over this world, is almost universally denied-if not directly, then indirectly. More and more are men in their philosophizing and theorizing relegating God to the background. Take the material realm. Not only is it denied that God created everything by personal and direct action, but few believe that He has any immediate concern in regulating the works of His own hands. Everything is supposed to be ordered according to the (impersonal and abstract) "laws of Nature." Thus is the Creator banished from His own creation. Therefore we need not be surprised that men, in their degrading conceptions, exclude Him from the realm of human affairs. Throughout Christendom, with an almost negligible exception, the theory is held that man is "a free agent," and therefore, lord of his fortunes and the determiner of his destiny. That Satan is to be blamed for much of the evil which is in the world is freely affirmed by those who, though having so much to say about "the responsibility of man," often deny their own responsibility, by attributing to the Devil what, in fact, proceeds from their own evil hearts (Mark 7:21-23).

But who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? Attempt to take a serious and comprehensive view of the world. What a scene of confusion and chaos confronts us on every side! Sin is rampant; lawlessness abounds; evil men and seducers are waxing "worse and worse" (2 Tim. 3:13). Today, everything appears to be out of joint. Thrones are creaking and tottering, ancient dynasties are being overturned, democracies are revolting, civilization is a demonstrated failure; half of Christendom was but recently locked-together in a death grapple; and now that the titantic conflict is over, instead of the world having been made "safe for democracy," we have discovered that democracy is very unsafe for the world. Unrest, discontent, and lawlessness are rife everywhere, and none can say how soon another great war will be set in motion. Statesmen are perplexed and staggered. Men's hearts are "failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth" (Luke 21:26). Do these things look as though God had full control?

But let us confine our attention to the religious realm. After nineteen centuries of Gospel preaching, Christ is still "despised and rejected of men." Worse still, He (the Christ of Scripture) is proclaimed and magnified by very few. In the majority of modern pulpits He is dishonored and disowned. Despite frantic efforts to attract the crowds, the majority of the churches are being emptied rather than filled. And what of the great masses of non-church goers? In the light of Scripture we are compelled to believe that the "many" are on the Broad Road that leadeth to destruction, and that only "few" are on the Narrow Way that leadeth unto life. Many are declaring that Christianity is a failure, and despair is settling on many faces. Not a few of the Lord's own people are bewildered, and their faith is being severely tried. And what of God? Does He see and hear? Is He impotent or indifferent? A number of those who are regarded as leaders of Christian-thought told us that God could not help the coming of the late awful War, and that He was unable to bring about its termination. It was said, and said openly, that conditions were beyond God's control. Do these things look as though God were ruling the world?

Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? What impression is made upon the minds of those men of the world who, occasionally, attend a Gospel service? What are the conceptions formed by those who hear even those preachers who are counted as "orthodox?" Is it not that a disappointed God is the One whom Christians believe in? From what is heard from the average evangelist today, is not any serious hearer obliged to conclude that he professes to represent a God who is filled with benevolent intentions, yet unable to carry them out; that He is earnestly desirous of blessing men, but that they will not let Him? Then, must not the average hearer draw the inference that the Devil has gained the upper hand, and that God is to be pitied rather than blamed?

But does not everything seem to show that the Devil has far more to do with the affairs of earth than God has? Ah, it all depends upon whether we are walking by faith, or walking by sight. Are your thoughts, my reader, concerning this world and God's relation to it, based upon what you see? Face this question seriously and honestly. And if you are a Christian you will, most probably, have cause to bow your head with shame and sorrow, and to acknowledge that it is so. Alas, in reality, we walk very little "by faith." But what does "walking by faith" signify? It means that our thoughts are formed, our actions regulated, our lives molded by the Holy Scriptures, for, "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). It is from the Word of Truth, and that alone, that we can learn what is God's relation to this world.

Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God or the Devil? What saith the Scriptures?

RC Sproul - Clip 1 of 5

ARMINIANS LIMIT

DEFINING WORSHIP

2 Peter 3:13

2 Peter 3:13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Is this my 'Main' Focus each day, each week, each month, as I wake up, eat, live, and prepare for bed? And Primarily that the new heavens and new earth will be the place of communion for the saints with JESUS. Such a place and such a communion is promised by God himself. While each verse is important to proclaim, it is equally important to bring to personal application, whereas we not only contend for the faith, but live the faith, and rejoice in both the warnings and promises of God. Take time to reflect on this verse and chapter.

REDEEMING TIME

If you value the health of your soul, cease hearing and quit reading--all that is lifeless, unctionless, and powerless. Life is too short to waste valuable time on that which does not profit. Ninety-nine out of every hundred of the religious books, booklets, and magazines now being published--are not worth the paper on which they are printed!

DOES GOD LOVE

ROMANS 11

Romans 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! [34] "For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?" [35] "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?"
[36] For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

ECCLESIASTES

Ecclesiastes 8:11

Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.