Last Words - almost Part 3

Last Words – almost  Part 3  Uhhhhhh – Ouch~!

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.   (2Pe 1:5-14)  ESV

1.     Lacks:  μη παρεστιν  (mḗ parestin)

a.    Μή, mḗ; neg. particle. Not.

b.    Πάρειμι, pareimi: 

                                          i.    1) to be by, be at hand, to have arrived, to be present

                                         ii.    2) to be ready, in store, at command

 (2Pe1:9, meaning the person who has not these things).

This is a little tricky.  The main force is the idea that these things (qualities) are readily available for use.  They are there but of little use or effect.

This indicates a lack of – well – practice.  Again, practice does not make perfect but it does produce improvement, endurance, strength, etc.  The implication is that, at least to some degree, these qualities are present or at least available to the believer.  What he or she does about or with them (or does not) is the individual’s prerogative.

But harking back to the relationship of belief and obedience – we can see the problem.

Now I want to briefly  (Yeah, fat chance of briefly.) address the “lack” of these qualities in the life of the believer – or rather the condition where these qualities are not readily at hand or possibly not even apparent.

Too many of us were chosen and called in an environment where there was nothing after we walked the aisle.  We surrendered our lives to Christ’s call and were patted on the back and told, “Go live for Jesus.”  But no one ever told us what that looked like.  Somebody dropped the ball on the “teaching them to obey,” part of the Great Commission.  

So we were left to our own devices.  We read all the “popular” books about the faith and the Bible.  We went to all the popular conferences.  We went to revivals and missions and we did a lot of good things.  In the interval we suffered.  In temptation we struggled and fell.  In trials we were overwhelmed with doubts and fears.

Why?  Somebody dropped the ball!!!!  

Now, some will say that the individual should have disciple themselves – but ya know, that’s not really – well – biblical.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,   (Eph 4:11-12)  ESV

That is biblical!!!

None of us answered His call in a vacuum devoid of any access to a mature believer.  Most of us answered His call right in the middle of the Body of Christ whether that was at church, camp, a revival, a conference or even a movie.  That was the “make disciples” part.  Where was the “teaching them to obey,” part????

Well, most of us ended up (some may still be there) in this condition, we were,

. . . children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.   (Eph 4:14)  ESV

Unfortunately, over time, we became elders or deacons or Sunday School teacher, even Pastors.  As we did, we brought the waves and winds with us.  And so we have a “church” today that bears little if any resemblance to that for which Christ died.  We have brought adultery into the body of Christ:

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (Jas 4:4) ESV

         For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we 

         proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you 

         received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, 

         you put up with it readily enough. (2Co 11:4) ESV

        Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, 

        so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.     

        They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, 

        they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become 

        plain that they all are not of us.  (1Jn 2:18-19) ESV

This is where the “lack” of these things has gotten us. 

Anxiety 2.0

Php 4:6  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  NASB

Anxious:  μεριμνάω  merimnaō

1) to be anxious

1a) to be troubled with cares

2) to care for, look out for (a thing)

2a) to seek to promote one’s interests

2b) caring or providing for

There is a related word that we ought to attend to as well:  μερίζω  merizō.  This work means to divide, to split into factions; to be disunited.  The reason I include merizō is that it gives a clearer sense of what we’re being told in this verse.  This word carried the idea of being distracted – diverted from the course set.

It is normal to be “anxious” – is it not?  Are we not told that we will be hated and have tribulation?  Are we not told we are engaged in a war?  Are we not warned of Satan’s desire to entrap and impale us?  How then could we never be anxious?

If you want to get hard core we are told here to “Be anxious,” but to be anxious for nothing 

But – that aside, we need to understand that the point here is to enjoin us to not be “disunited,” or as my grandfather would say, “discombobulated” for nothing.  We are not to let anything distract us from, well, the faith.

OK – for the rookies.  I want you to remember that the Christ did not die to make life here a party – or even nice.  He died so that we might be redeemed into God’s family and have the assurance of eternal life with Him.  That’s what we cannot afford to be distracted from. 

We should also remember that God’s desire for us here is to grow in righteousness.  He does not want us to be distracted from that either.  The anxiety He presents here in Phil. Is an anxiety that distracts us from those truths and make other things of equal or greater importance and concern.

I know a man who is struggling with anxiety over his circumstances.  Work, money, the future all seem to loom over him pressing him down.  The constant battle he faces is in trying to work it out, figure it out, fix it, etc. apart from his dependence upon God.  The shame and humiliation that would attend the worst case scenario plaques most of his waking moments, even his dreams.  A sense of a wasted life, uselessness and failure rise up in his throat like bile.

He’s afraid to do anything because the thought keeps running in his head that if he does the wrong thing, God will smack him.  All of his past errors and sin raise their ugly heads to accuse and offer proof of his unfitness for God’s blessing.  In his anxiety, he is frozen. 

He wants to pray but feels that would be disingenuous.  He has thoughts of ramping up his practices, good works, prayer, stewardship – but he knows that comes from the wrong direction.  The subtle thought that if he just does X God will rescue him freezes his mind and heart.

This is the anxiety of which Paul writes.  I had one person describe it as feeling like what it must be like to be water-boarded.  It’s a paralyzing, smothering sense of distress. 

Knowing his redemption is sure; Knowing that he is a child of God; Knowing that God works all thing for the good of those who love him, he still struggles desperately though quietly; all the while pushing forward to meet his obligations and commitments. 

He yearns to be with the Lord but even here it is dangerous.  To be with the Lord one must shuffle off this mortal coil.  Yet he knows that perhaps he wants more to be out of his circumstances than to be - well – dead.  So he even questions his desire for God and the eternal life Christ purchased for him.

He does not trust his own mind and struggles with God entrusting him because of his failures.  Oh, he knows these are all the strategies of the world, the flesh and the Devil but knowing the source doesn’t reduce the injury. 

He fights being “distracted,” or “diverted,” rom the course set before him.  He struggles with every fiber of his being to push through the darkness and dismay.  Like the prophet he would sit under a tree and invite God to take his life.  Like Job he would scorn the day of his birth.

There is no “cure” for his anxiety, only an alternative.

“but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”

Interestingly he does not struggle with being thankful.  He knows all he has to be thankful for.  It is the nature and content of his requests that concern him.  He wants to pray for what he needs but what he thinks he needs smacks too much of what he wants.  He wants to ask for the right thing but he does not trust his thoughts on what the right thing is.  What should he request?

Now, for you and me, what he should pray for may be clear and simple.  Homey but true, “It’s hard to remember the job was to drain the swamp when you’re up to your behind in alligators.”  We also have to remember that one man’s gecko is another man’s alligator.

Then we find:

Rom 8:26-27  In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;  (27)  and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

That, then, is his only active hope.  Unable to trust himself, his heart, his mind, he must trust the Spirit of God to untangle all the “stuff” and to present to God those groanings.  Yes, sometimes we need to “be still.”  Not just to hear from God but to speak to Him as well.

“Being still,” isn’t easy.  We need to pray to be still.  When our minds and hearts a racing, when we are hard pressed inside and out being still is as hard as turning the other cheek – perhaps harder.

The real distressing part of this is that we are not prone to carry these burdens to the Body.  There is too much of a stigma attached.  Not only that, but there is often nothing available except shallow platitudes or castigation.  So in these circumstances the individual is left to deal with it alone.  All too often – most often – this results in a catastrophe of faith.

Yes, I know that the Romans verse is followed by:

Rom 8:28  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.

This is indeed a great and true assurance but like children who have suffered an injury the assurance that, “It will be OK,” doesn’t stop the pain or quell the fear.

Any thoughts?

Let us "entertain" you ?????

Let us “entertain” you?

Richard Baxter wrote a short work on the need for believers to be cautious in what they read.  Today, there are more forms of entertainment and leisure habits than just reading.  Between TV, movies, concerts, seminars and talk radio, we are overrun with opportunities to be entertained and gather information.

However, if we are to grow in righteousness we need to be very very careful what we put in our minds and who we allow to put it there.  We must remember that not one iota of data enters our minds that does not have some influence be it immediate or cumulative.

Baxter presents these questions: 

Remember that it is not just books we need to be cautious about

While reading ask oneself:

1. Could I spend this time no better?

2. Are there better books that would edify me more?

3. Are the lovers of such a book as this the greatest lovers of the Book of God and of a holy

   life?

4. Does this book increase my love to the Word of God, kill my sin, and prepare me for the life

   to come?

Ouch!

Entertainments are not in and of themselves evil or bad.  They are however, like candy and not fit for a regular diet. 

Patti and used to watch the show The Glimore Girls.  We were really caught up in their story and the characters.  That is until somehow we began to ask, “What’s the message behind the entertainment?”  As we looked at the characters, the situations they faced and the decisions they made we were shocked that we had never noticed exactly how dysfunctional and sad the show really was.  Where we had laughed we now dropped our jaws and shook our heads in despair.

Remember 24?  Did you get hooked?  What was the message in that show?  What about My Name is Earl?  Anyone up for a cup of Karma?

“Oh, Michael,” you say, “it’s just TV (or books or movies, etc).”  True – but the intent of these shows is to get you to suspend your incredulity and accept, at least some of it, as real.  The only show I can remember that didn’t do that was Dragnet.  You can still catch this on Hulu.  It’s dull, slow and stiff – but, it’s more real than anything since.

What about “reality” shows?  Is that really reality?  Are these “real” people?  Sure they are – but stick a camera crew with anyone and no matter how “real” they are, their “reality” changes.

Even the “News” here in America is a joke.  Do a search on the net for British news shows.  You’ll learn things about our country that are true – that you’ll not hear of US news shows.

Remember that old song, Be Careful Little Eyes What You See?  Well if you think you’ve outgrown it you are fooling yourself.  The “entertainment” industry is first about making money.  Secondly it is about changing culture.  Kirks’ kissing O’Hura is an example – though a good one. 

A mother selling marijuana to support her family is a bad one (Weeds).

Hey, in the end, it’s up to you.  If you want to eat candy all the time and don’t think it will have a deleterious effect – OK.  But just keep in mind that even a tiny piece of leaven affects the whole lump of dough.  A brief exposure to radiation over a long period of time will get you dead.  Arsenic, mercury and lead are necessary but taking in small portion over a long time will kill you.

I was once told by a friend of mine that as they watch a TV show or movie they woulkd always ask, “If the Lord was sitting here, would I change the channel?”

Here’s a challenge.  There’s a show called, The Big Bang Theory.  If the title doesn’t warn you off, watch it – but – take notes.  What preoccupies the characters?  What would you say are their fundamental beliefs?  Notice any stereo-types?  What “world-view” can you pick up?”  Should what makes you laugh make you laugh?

If you don’t want to take the challenge, here’s what WikiP has to say concerning how “religion” is addressed on the show:

Religion plays a minor role in the series. Sheldon was raised in a fundamentalist Christian household. He refers to his childhood as "hell", and a recurrent theme is his conflict with his devout mother, Mary, whose creationist beliefs often clash with Sheldon's understanding of evolution. In "The Lunar Excitation", Sheldon mentions his promise to Mary to attend church once a year. In "The Wheaton Recurrence", after scoring a spare in bowling, Sheldon happily exclaims "Thank you, Jesus! ...as my mother would say." In the episode "The Zarnecki Incursion", Sheldon can be heard exclaiming "Why hast thou forsaken me, o deity whose existence I doubt?"

Howard and Raj are Jewish and Hindu, respectively, and semi-observant, apparently defying many religious customs without worry. They frequently flout dietary prohibitions and tend to give each other grief about them--Raj quotes from the Talmud after Howard eats pork, and Howard sharply says he holds his tongue when Raj eats a Big Mac. Still, Raj mentions reincarnation and karma, and Howard celebrates at least some Jewish holidays and refuses to get tattoos so he "can be buried in a Jewish cemetery". Howard's mother is a caricature of an over-protective Jewish mother.

Neither Leonard's nor Penny's religious convictions are made clear. Leonard approaches Christianity with less skepticism than Sheldon. Penny has expressed belief in ghosts, astrology, psychics and voodoo. Bernadette is Catholic, and is frequently seen wearing a necklace with a cross. And Amy is agnostic, stating in "The Lunar Excitation" that she understands the notion of a deity but is skeptical of one that would take attendance.

In the end, what gets in your mind is up to you – but I encourage you to ask, “Why do I find this entertaining?”  and “Would I invite the Apostle Paul over for pop-corn to watch this with me?  or  “What would an unbelieving acquaintance think of my witness if we were watching this together?”

You may not make you brother or sister stumble – why would you want to make yourself do so?

Churching 032812

James 4:4  You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

I’ve just finished reading, The Churching of America 1776-2005 1776-2005 by Finke and Stark and am greatly stunned by what they found in their studies.  The clarity and focus of this work makes it a must read for anyone concerned with the direction the Church is taking and the reasons for it.

They uncover a process the church, at least in the USA, seems to follow.  To put it in my own words you have a small group who reject the status quo of the established “church” and forms a sect.  The sect is marked by an “other-worldly” perspective, a high cost or commitment and a high degree of tension with the culture in which it exists.  However, over time as the sect grows more affluent and larger it seems it begins to seek accommodation with the culture and an institution (as opposed to a Body) is formed.  As this takes place the cost/commitment of membership decreases and the institution begins to suffer in numbers and effectiveness.  Then, a small group of members, dissatisfied with the status quo ------- and over and over.

The whole process revolves, in my view, around a desire to have the acceptance of and credibility in the culture in which it exists.  Unfortunately the shift is also one from serving the Lord in individual and corporate growth in holiness to serving the “world” in the manner the world dictates.  I would hazard to suggest that at the point at which the institution makes a definitive switch in servant hood the Holy Spirit is left little recourse but to influence those still sensitive to His influence to resist the switch and ultimately move on.

One place the authors do not delve into, although they do touch on it and its consequences, is the area of the education of Pastors.  It seems that the higher the education of the Pastors the greater the susceptibility of accommodation with the culture.  Early on one acquired a Bachelors of Theology in order to be considered for ordination.  Today, since the 70s, one is typically required to have a Masters of Divinity for ordination.  The M. Div. is considered a “professional” degree (actually it’s a B. Div./B. Th. on steroids).

But here’s my quandary.  In the early days of our nation the Gospel was spread (usually) by well-trained but poorly educated intenerate preachers.  They were as well educated as those they served; more poorly paid than their “professional” counterparts and almost always died young.  It was these men who moved the church into the frontier, who tilled the soul-soil and planted the seeds and with great success.  However, the established “church” saw them as a disfigurement on the Body of Christ mostly due to their lack of formal education, their rough and ready attitudes and their lack of social graces.

The issue, for me, breaks down into “professional” verses “vocational.”  Now the two are not mutually exclusive but of the two it is the vocational that has consistently fueled the health and growth of the Body of Christ.  In the 1700 and 1800’s a man who had a sense of “calling” usually had demonstrated some skill in ministry through teaching and otherwise serving the Body.  Determined competent by his peers he would be ordained of commissioned to preach and perform the duties of a Pastor.  Where these men may not have been theologically, philosophically or socially astute as their seminary trained counterparts they were much more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission.

When we lower the minister to the level of the Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, etc. we rob him of the true nature of his authority and limit the breadth of his work.  It is not the role off the ministry to engage the culture or science or cults.  It is the role of the ministry to:

Eph. 4:12 -  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes

It is the duty of the pastor to shepherd the flock – and the flock is solely composed of the redeemed.

Back to my issue.  It seems that the more “successful” the “church” or “denomination” the greater the propensity for friendship with the world.  The greater the desire to be accepted and lauded by the community.  The greater the pull to be relevant to the unredeemed.  We want to be liked and valued – even as a “church.”

Accommodation is the only step to compromise which is the only step to apostasy.

Friendship – phileos – love for the world is as much (if not more) a corporate (church) issue as it is an individual issue.  It is adultery,  it is idolatry.  It begins with a desire for what the world tells you you need (church or individual) and then a lust grows and – well ------

James 1: 14 But each person ( and I would say “church”) is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

The question individual bodies of believers need to be asking is NOT are we growing numerically.  That is not our job (see Acts 2:47b).  Our job – our and in the church’s and especially the leaders is to:

Eph. 4:12 -  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

So that the church can resist:

James 1: 14 But each person ( and I would say “church”) is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

What, “things of the world,” does the Bride of Christ seem to be enamored with?  Where does the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life assail her?  What wrongly directed desires doe she hold in her heart?

She’s not a victim – except of her own desires.

Half empty? Half full? 032612

Half empty or half full?

Heb. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely

Are you a, “the glass is half empty,” or a “the glass is half full,” kind of person?

I’m a, “the glass is always full,” kind of guy.

The glass may be half full (or empty) of water but the rest is filled up with air.  So, it is really always full.

Are you a, “don’t sin,” or a “do good works,” person?

OK, we all sin and we’re all gonna sin till He returns BUT if you are just a “don’t sin,” person you are gonna have a tough time!

We are to lay aside every weight and sin which clings.  But that’s not the end of it!!!!!!!  We are to do that and then RUN.

What’s this “run” thing?

Duhhhhhhhh…….

It’s doing the work He prepared for us to do –

Duhhhhhhhh…….

Now, I’m not JUST talking about feeding the hungry or visiting the sick.  Yes, we need to be doing communal good deeds.  But the real work begins in us – working on our knowledge and understanding of our faith so we can better  and more faithfully live it out.

Trust me – or rather Him (I’m just telling)  if you work on:

Phil.4: 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

OR

2 Cor. 10:  . . . . take every thought captive to obey Christ.

sin will slowly diminish in your life.  It may never go away but it will begin to die.

You can’t DO a DON’T – you’ve got to DO a DO.  That’s where our focus needs to be.

From the bottom of our hearts to the far flung mission fields we need to be about doing our work he prepared.

It starts in our hearts.

2 Thes. 2: 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Note:  Comfort and ESTABLISH our HEARTS – in every good WORK AND WORD!

ESTABLISH: στηριζω   sterizo:  to set fast, i. e. ( literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or ( figuratively) to confirm: — fix, ( e-) stablish, stedfastly set, strengthen, to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix to strengthen, make firm to render constant, confirm, one's mind.

 

IN: preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality

It is through both the work and the word that our hearts are established – not by not sinning.

It is a both/and.  The Word instructs and directs and then the Work confirms and encourages.

Oh – just in case you forgot – the Spirit works in this mightily – and constantly.

Think of Words and Works as the hay and mud the Spirit uses to make strong durable bricks as He builds you up in Christ.

Yes, I will always struggle against the flesh and with sin BUT my intent is not to not sin.  Rather my intent is to so engage the work and the word that sin finds little opportunity.

Sin loves a vacuum.  Fill your cup with the work and the word and sin will find little room.