tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86002707877504317612024-03-14T04:54:44.152-05:00Growing in His KnowledgeSeeking Higher Pleasure in Christ and a more Kingdom PotentialAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-73766553477829143172014-12-12T22:45:00.001-06:002014-12-12T22:45:29.698-06:00An Article and a Half/* I'm sorry about the long silence; I had not been enthusiastic about the topic so I hardly worked on it. So I will just give you the draft and let you finish it in your own meditations. Meanwhile I saw an article from the Rebelution that I would like to post, which can be found <a href="http://therebelution.com/blog/2014/11/what-if-im-just-normal/#.VIvCnTHF-uI" target="_blank">here</a>. */<br />
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The Apostle John does not have many practical applications for cultivating a relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus. That is because John's ministry was appointed to the Jews; (Galatians 2:9) and since from the Law and the Prophets they have a storehouse of applications, it would be redundant for John to list applications that they have heard read from the synagogues their entire lives.<br />
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What the Apostle John needed to do was to set these applications into focus where Jewish Christians would be able to apply them in the light of the Gospel. <br />
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The two primary categories that John gives are love and peace.<br />
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Agape is the common Greek word to refer to the love of God in Christ for His people. While those in darkness fear the Light and wish its annihilation, Light straightens its lovers and wishes them joy. As I said in the previous post, this is a giving love; a life that is humbly laid at the Altar to be partaken of others. The agape of Jesus is to be our standard of love for other believers in Christ, how we're known to be His followers.<br />
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The Israelites knew that loving their neighbor was a part of their calling as God's people; but they had never seen a living demonstration of that responsibility, nor knew why it was significant. <br />
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Eirene is the Greek word to refer to the calm, quiet, restful state we call peace.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-13986050700667072332014-08-01T20:58:00.001-05:002014-08-01T20:58:18.455-05:00BWVC - The Apostle John's Desire (Part 3)Now let's look at the unity of the Father and the Son in glory; for there is where Jesus desires for His Church to emulate. Jesus said in one place, "I and my Father are one."And He said in another, "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:" Glory does involve the high recognition of one's name but it is more than that; glory in Scripture carries a sense of weight, a force expressed in physical quantities like light, fire, and smoke. Glory is Jesus and His Father's greatest desire; and Jesus prayed that those believe on Him would see Him in His restored glory. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17%3A24&version=KJV">John 17:24</a>)<br />
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One fundamental quality of God's glory is His love. It is a part of His Trinitarian nature; "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16) God the Father loves God the Son; (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A35&version=KJV">John 3:35</a>) God the Son loves God the Father. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A31&version=KJV">John 14:31</a>) And from thence they love those that love the Son, Jesus. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A21&version=KJV">John 14:21</a>) This is a love that gives. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A16%2C+3%3A35%2C+4%3A14%2C+5%3A26-27%2C+6%3A27%2C+6%3A37%2C+6%3A51%2C+10%3A11%2C+10%3A28-29%2C+12%3A49%2C+13%3A3%2C+14%3A16%2C+14%3A27%2C+17%3A6-11%2C+17%3A24%3B+1+John+3%3A24%2C+5%3A20%3B+Revelation+2%3A7%2C+2%3A10%2C+2%3A17%2C+21%3A6%2C+22%3A5&version=KJV">John 3:16, 3:35, 4:14, 5:26-27, 6:27, 6:37, 6:51, 10:11, 10:28-29, 12:49, 13:3, 14:16, 14:27, 17:6-11, 17:24; 1 John 3:24, 5:20; Revelation 2:7, 2:10, 2:17, 21:6, 22:5</a>)<br />
<br />Another fundamental quality of God's glory is the revelation of His purity. "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+1%3A5&version=KJV">1 John 1:5</a>) Light is used metaphorically in Scripture to refer to God's revelation through His word. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+36%3A5-9%3B+119%3A104-105&version=KJV">Psalm 36:5-9; 119:104-105</a>) It also refers to God's righteous verdict on people whose actions are evil and those who do the truth. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A19-21&version=KJV">John 3:19-21</a>) This is a God who loves to reveal Himself and His glorious holiness.<br /><br />Jesus (and John) wants us to emulate this relationship. How? By being set apart for holy use by God's word. How does His word enable us to relate to one another like the Father and the Son? First, protecting us with God's honor. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17%3A11&version=KJV">John 17:11</a>) Second, encouraging us to live with a Gospel purpose and with loving unity. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17%3A22-23&version=KJV">John 17:22-23</a>) This is John's desire for Christians not only for his co-workers in the Apostleship but "for them also which shall believe on me through their word;" (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17%3A20&version=KJV">John 17:20</a>)<br /><br />Next we go over the means that John would have us to use for building our relationship with the true God and Jesus Christ who He sent. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-4159230047570656312014-07-02T22:01:00.000-05:002014-07-17T17:42:03.856-05:00BWVC - The Apostle John's Desire (Part 2)So what does the Apostle John want his readers to know about God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ? No sincere relationship can be made or maintained without understanding who we are seeking to relate to, especially with God. So how does John introduce us to the triune God in his Gospel?<br />
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When the Apostle John introduces us to God the Father, he first claims that no one has ever seen God or heard His voice. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201:18;%20John%205:37&version=KJV">John 1:18; John 5:37</a>) That would seem strange especially for those who know the Old Testament; God spoke to Moses and the Israelites. Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up. But John specified that Jesus is the I AM, the Word of God; so John is not contradicting the Old Testament, but unveiling it.<br />
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What role does the Father play? He is the source; (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+7%3A16%3B+John+8%3A28&version=KJV">John 7:16; John 8:28</a>): He is the destination. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A2-6&version=KJV">John 14:2-6</a>) Essentially the Father is the decision-maker and initiator. <br />
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Not too much to say about God the Father? That's because His fullness is displayed in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, whom He sent to be the Savior of the World; in other words, God the Father cannot be known without God the Son. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A7&version=KJV">John 14:7</a>)<br />
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John begins his Gospel with Jesus as the Word who from the beginning created all things, something that his Jewish readers would recognize from Genesis. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+33%3A6&version=KJV">Psalm 33:6</a>) Then he declared, perhaps to the shock of his Platonic Gentile readers, that the Word took on human flesh. So in other words, what Augustine called the Divine Imperative took on the Carnal Subjunctive to accomplish for us the Perfect Indicative.<br />
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Jesus came, sent by God to fulfill His Father's design for the world, which is the salvation of all the Father gives Him and the gift of life in His Son. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A16-17%3B+John+6%3A38-40%3B+John+12%3A47&version=KJV">John 3:16-17; John 6:38-40; John 12:47</a>) He performed miracles showing Himself to be God's anointed One. And in His prayer He mentioned that His work was finished and confirmed it on the cross. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17%3A4%3B+John+19%3A30&version=KJV">John 17:4; John 19:30</a>) Being now our Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ is the righteous propitiation for our sins. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+2%3A1-2&version=KJV">1 John 2:1-2</a>)<br />
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Theologians commonly point out the seven statements that Jesus made about Himself in John's Gospel. Who doesn't like going over the seven I AM statements of Jesus? However, there is a danger of creating a philosophical construct of Christ that we just hang on our minds like a portrait in a museum just to gaze at, basically depersonalizing Jesus; John wrote these things that we would experience Jesus personally through his Gospel.<br />
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Jesus is the Bread of Life; He sustains and nourishes us in our sojourning by His Word. Jesus is the Light of the World; He sets all that is right and wrong for everyone's perspective, and illuminates our path. Jesus is the Sheep Gate; He protects us from harm. Jesus is the Good Shepherd; He devotes His life for His sheep. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life; He brings to life what was barren. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life; John is not being snobbish, he is just acknowledging that there is no one that is more like-minded and well-pleasing with God than Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Vine; all our strength and works is supplied by His love for us.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-64760812365909069512014-06-14T16:33:00.000-05:002014-08-02T08:36:11.841-05:00BWVC - The Apostle John's Desire (Part 1)One of the ways to know what a writer's theme is to look at what he prays about. What is his fervent, constant request(s)? What chief thing does he want from the One who controls our eternal destiny and the affairs of the world? Even better, if he's a gospel writer, what does he record Jesus praying about?<br />
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You might be able to guess correctly what passage I'm turning to, John 17.<br />
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Commonly called Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, this prayer displays the glorious relationship between Jesus and God the Father and His desire for His people to reflect their relationship. Verse three defines what is the common desire of the disciples: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." The word translated "know" is not limited to cognitive knowledge that is learned by second hand education but is knowledge earned through first hand experience by realization.<br />
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Thus we can glean from this and other passages that John's vision for his readers is that <b><i>they would have a first-hand relationship with the true God and His Son Jesus Christ; and that from this relationship of glory, they would learn from His word to love those who believe the word of His apostles in unison with the love between God the Father and God the Son</i></b>.<br />
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It is this conviction, that men and women would have a gracious and sincere relationship with Jesus Christ the Word-made-flesh, that the Apostle John was eager to write over one-ninth of the New Testament. He wrote a Gospel account to persuade his hearers that Jesus is God's equal, the Messiah. He wrote an epistle to give assurance to true followers of Christ of their saving relationship and the marks of such relationship. He wrote two other epistles to encourage his hearers in their walk in the truth and exhorted them to hold fast the doctrine of Christ in word and deed. Finally he wrote an apocalyptic work describing Christ's role in heaven in the early church and the last days.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-5623465464402897872014-06-13T15:05:00.000-05:002014-06-13T17:25:37.963-05:00The Biblical Writers' Vision for Christians - Introduction John Howard, a preacher stated that he supposes every preacher "has a bone to pick," a topic that preachers are passionate about and outspoken about. For him, it was the Gospel. For one of our former pastors, it was the Kingdom of God. You could say the same thing about the writers of the Bible; each writer has a different emphasis on what God did in history.<br />
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But discerning what they were is a complicated process and difficult to glean especially with minor writers. So I will focus on what six biblical writers envisioned for their audience, namely:<br />
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<li>The Apostle John</li>
<li>The Apostle Paul</li>
<li>The Apostle Peter</li>
<li>The Prophet Isaiah</li>
<li>The Prophet David</li>
<li>The Prophet Moses</li>
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Lord willing, we will look at their desire for Christians and the means they prescribe to acquiring it. May the Lord bless our meditation and understanding!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-59672405737658609332014-05-24T17:59:00.002-05:002014-05-24T17:59:49.664-05:00What is Maturity?If we wish to grow into men and women of courage, we must know what it means to be mature.<br />
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As I look back at my teens, I had false notions of maturity. I thought that in order to be an adult, I had to merely give up the stuff of my childhood for what seemed more adult. I would give up Lucky Charms for Honey'n'Bunches of Oats. I would give up my favorite websites for the more serious variety. I would give up conversations with imagination for more adult topics.<br />
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I didn't give up as much as I hoped, but it didn't matter; to begin with, I was still the same boy that I started out. It was not true maturity.<br />
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So if to throw away childhood surroundings is not maturity; what is maturity? I believe Dave Ramsay, a financial counselor defines maturity in the correct direction when he states that maturity is the delay of pleasure. <br />
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Polishing his definition a tad, maturity looks like the active planning of activities into their appropriate times. That is oversimplified; but it is a good start. Take sleep for example: restful sleep is a gift from God; (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%204:8;%20Proverbs%203:24&version=KJV">Psalm 4:8; Proverbs 3:24</a>) but there are times where sleep is not appropriate. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+10%3A5%3B+Proverbs+20%3A13&version=KJV">Proverbs 10:5; Proverbs 20:13</a>) It takes wisdom to sort all of the positioning and timing; however we have God's word to enlighten us, if we diligently apply ourselves to study and ask in faith that He will generously reward it. <br />
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It starts with priorities. What matters so much to you that you are willing to lay your time and energy to pursue it to the fullest extent possible? And how does everything, that you come into contact with, fit into that? Jesus commanded us to seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness; then promised us that if we did so, all of the necessities will be added to us. <br />
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Once we get into the habit of organizing activities and responses in their proper places, we should be more prepared to handle the bigger responsibilities that God may place on us to be carried out to His glory.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-20044349279380074342014-05-01T21:48:00.000-05:002014-05-02T14:14:41.041-05:00Hollering over TheologySome time ago I stated on Twitter, "Good Theology does not necessarily lead to good works, (just look at Jonah) but it does demand it. Likewise for bad theology and bad works." Let me expound on this statement.<br />
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This observation comes from looking at the history of Western Civilization and recent cultural phenomena. We see Christians in the past who knew the message of the Gospel but chose to violate it; we still bend over backwards to give an explanation for their hypocrisy, but we can see the character of the triune God and know how to imitate Him.<br />
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The other side of the coin is where many get tripped up, that bad theology does not necessarily lead to bad works, but demands it. They assume that as long as people don't do bad things, they can believe what they want. (As long as it does not go outside of the mainstream opinion!) So they get upset when challenged with the rotten elements of their 'theology.' We are not saying that if they believe such things, it is inevitable that they act consistently with it. But we do rejoice that they are borrowing from Christian morality and ask why they are doing it in the terms of their 'theology.' <br />
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The biblical case that I had was with Jonah. I've heard that the reason Jonah disobeyed God and ran away was because of fear. But that is not what Jonah told God. He said, "I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil." (Jonah 4:2) Since this was between Jonah and God, I assume this was an honest excuse. Jonah had good theology, theology that demands that he become what he obeys; but he did not know what manner of spirit he was of.<br />
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So that's the hollering over theology that has been going on these days.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-33807501914363569782014-03-22T17:31:00.002-05:002014-03-22T17:36:17.716-05:00The Theme of Murder in Scripture, For Example<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Looking again at murder, (or the killing of human life in general) what theme do we see? Well, if you see what I see, God has created humanity in His likeness and called it good. But sin entered into world, followed by death, marring justice and introducing murder into the human race. To His chosen people, God gave His holy and just law on Mount Sinai, condemning murder yet giving war and self-defense as a means of protecting human life.<br />
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But for Israel to apply it, they must kill every opposition they find in the promise land with the sword for their holy kingdom to come from this world; and throughout their existence they failed to uphold the law. But God, keeping His word to His prophets, embodied Himself in human flesh. Jesus identified the root cause of murder which is the wishful non-existence of any bearer of God's image with regards to their personality, persuasion, or position. He gave Himself willingly to be gruesomely murdered for the salvation of the world. <br />
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Being raised from the dead and sitting at the right hand of the Father, He reconstituted Israel to be a kingdom coming from heaven, a holy kingdom whose promise land expands to all nations; this time with enemies not to be fought with physical weapons but with weapons mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. In keeping with the promises of the Messianic Age, courageous Christians throughout the ages by the Holy Spirit have defended the helpless, instituted justice for the second-class citizens, eliminated human sacrifice from continental Europe, saved some lives of the unborn from abortion, etc. One day the Lord will come, raise and judge the whole human race, and consummate the new heavens and new earth where there will be no violence and hatred. </div>
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Now your description is going to look different than mine, but do you get the point? <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-2653422794703520672014-03-22T16:54:00.001-05:002014-05-01T19:47:15.677-05:00How Should We Interpret the Bible?With a wave of "ex-evangelicals" in the church and a post-modern culture challenging the conservative interpretations of Scripture, it is important that we have a solid, robust framework for reading out of God's word instead of what appears to be Christian presuppositions. So many people see the Bible as merely an old collection of religious sayings consisting of outdated myths and ethics. We as Bible-believing Christians, however, see the Bible as God's revelation of His true story of redemption through Jesus Christ, written down by real men with real, God-given insight on what is really happening and what the proper response should be to it.<br />
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But even within the community of Christians, there is still controversy over contemporary issues which boils down to how do we truly discern God's will for our modern era from an ancient Book that is diverse in its genres, writers, and mysteries?<br />
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I will start by admitting my presupposition that all words and thoughts find their meaning in the eternal Word-made-flesh, thus rejecting the notion that words find their meaning in its listeners' opinions and biases. Further presuppositions on truth can be found <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/ten-theses-on-postmodernism.html">here</a> by Pastor Doug Wilson. <br />
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So why should we care about biblical interpretation? We should care because Satan knows Scripture; he is not ignorant of its content. And he will use (abuse) it to those who commit 100% to obeying the word, as he did with Jesus. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+4%3A9-12&version=KJV">Luke 4:9-12</a>) Satan has his own framework of interpreting the Bible, so how do we know what is his and what is God's?<br />
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Another reason why is while the Bible is the most uplifting book in the universe, it is also the most destructive. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Peter+3%3A15-18&version=KJV">2 Peter 3:15-18</a>) Use it lawfully, and you will reap from it God's blessing to the uttermost. Abuse it in arrogance and neglect, and it will be to your swift undoing. That is the high stakes we hold when we read God's word.<br />
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So where do we begin? As Christians, we start our framework with Christ. Why Jesus Christ? Because Jesus is God incarnate, the One who embodies Scripture fully, understands it completely, and lives it out perfectly; and with many infallible proofs, we have resolute confidence in His resurrection which is the icon of His divinity. (Information on why the resurrection is historically reliable can be found <a href="http://www.answersingenesis.org/get-answers/k/resurrection-series/v/recent">here</a> from Answers in Genesis and <a href="http://www.leestrobel.com/channels/Christ.php">here</a> from Lee Strobel) We want to have Jesus' interpretation as well as the apostles' as they are His appointed representatives. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A16%3B+1+Thessalonians+2%3A13%3B+1+John+4%3A6&version=KJV">Luke 10:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 John 4:6</a>)<br />
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So how did Jesus (and the apostles) interpret the Bible? Let's look at a few of the principles of hermeneutics that they used:<br />
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Scripture must be read out not read into (exegesis)</div>
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That sounds obvious but it is an ignored principle. We see it in Galatians 3:16, "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ." (ESV) Here, Paul makes a point out of grammar; he expects that the text as it is written means what it says. <br />
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Now I know that we cannot have a bias-free reading of Scripture, but wouldn't it be better to base your interpretation on the words themselves instead of probability? <br />
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All Scripture on a certain issue has a theme</div>
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We see this principle specified in John 10:35 where Jesus defends His claim to divinity as a man; He makes a point with Psalm 82:6 and makes this assertion, "Scripture cannot be broken." (10:35 ESV) What did He mean by "broken?" There are two uses of this word, one in John 5:18 and the other in Acts 13:43. The first one describes a violation of a law or a tradition; the second one describes a disintegration of a body into separate parts. Since Jesus knew that Scripture could be violated, (Matthew 5:19) He meant the latter.<br />
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This means that Scripture cannot be divided into various, contradicting truths. You cannot have one set of verses advocating murder and another set condemning murder. But you will say to me, "But there are verses that appear to be for and against just about any teaching or behavior!" But if what Jesus is saying is true, (and it is) then God must have the same themes woven into the main Theme throughout all Scripture. How do we read the theme out of the verses? We read it by harmonizing the verses, considering their contexts, and looking to the Gospel as the glue that pulls it all together. <br />
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Scripture interprets Scripture</div>
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When Satan tested Jesus on the temple with Scripture from Psalm 91:11-12, Jesus could have said, "No, that is not how I interpret those verses." but instead He said, "Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." (Matthew 4:7 ESV) He did not back down from using the sword of the Spirit but used Scripture to correct Satan's interpretation.<br />
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This is an example of using a passage from Scripture that is easier to understand to clarify passages that are hard to understand or misinterpreted, bearing in mind the context as well. Just as diamonds can be cut reliably by diamond, so Scripture can be reliably interpreted by only other Scriptures.<br />
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Conclusion</div>
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Some Christians might object to the Bible being interpreted in such a systematic fashion, preferring that the Bible be read like "a love letter" or some other spontaneous manner. But looking at the principles, isn't that how any personal letter ought to be read?<br />
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We are given a personal exhortation from a caring Father, a ravishing love letter from a loving Husband, a treasure map from an adventurous Captain, a battle plan from an ambitious King, a historical account from a critical Eyewitness, a victorious herald from a successful Savior. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-91845945202275293462014-02-21T17:36:00.000-06:002014-02-21T18:39:06.546-06:00Excuse the Randomness This is mainly a test to see if I could upload photos from my blog to another <a href="http://strongholdstudios.weebly.com/">website</a>.<br />
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Made from Blender</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-16144252111937893672014-01-15T20:59:00.000-06:002014-08-23T15:16:29.806-05:00Various Posts from the 2013 GCC Bible ReadingThis last year, some of us read through the whole Bible in an online community setting. Unfortunately, not too many people participated on Faithlife as I had hoped. But we did have some good discussion, and I'm putting most of it on here so it won't get lost. Here's several questions and observations that I initiated: <br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">What do you think the phrase referring to Enoch "and he was not" means?</span>"<br />
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>Ryan: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">As near as I can tell, looks like that phrase is implied from the Hebrew word "Laqach," which means, basically, "to take." That word is translated "taken" in <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/2%20Kings%202.10">2 Kings 2:10</a>, right before Elijah is miraculously taken up in the flaming chariot. In <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Heb.%2011.5">Heb. 11:5</a>, Paul makes clear that Enoch also had a similar experience. So, I think "he was not" likely means what Hebrews 11 shows – that Enoch "was not found" among the living.</span>"<br />
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>Mike: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">I think Brother Ryan answered well. Dispensationalists use this as an example of what they believe will happen on a mass scale at the rapture--millions of Christians will simply go missing. Others will be left behind.</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">The phrase "called their name Adam" is interesting as it states the equality of the man and woman. He was Adam and she was Adam. Only after the Fall did the woman receive a separate name. It reflects in a way the Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not three Gods but one God, distinct persons but equal in substance, power, and glory. Likewise the man and woman are not two Adams but one Adam, distinct in roles but equal in the image of God. (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Genesis%205.2">Genesis 5:2</a>)</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">In a Christian World History Book, I've read that the rise of Islam was a fulfillment of God's promise to Hagar concerning Ishmael becoming a great nation. (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Genesis%2021.18">Genesis 21:18</a>) Do you think they have something there or are they too speculative in their interpretation?</span>"<br />
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>Mike: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">I believe the existence of a large number of Turks, as an ethnic group, is a fulfillment of this promise, but that the promise did not include their religion being a Christ-hating, vicious belief system. Good question!</span>"<br />
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>Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">That makes sense. I lean towards their view since Islam and Judaism are alike in that they think they can work their way to heaven through the law. Paul said in Galatians that people who think like that are children of Hagar and people of Mount Sinai. Also Islam is somewhat a caricature of Christianity, reflecting the mockery of Ishmael that got him and Hagar kicked out of the family.</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life." (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Genesis%2045.5">Genesis 45:5</a>) "Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations." (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Ezekiel%2036.25">Ezekiel 36:25</a>) How would these verses fit together? How do we not be angry nor grieved with ourselves yet loathe ourselves for our sin?</span>"<br />
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>Mike: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">I think the answer lies, at least in part, in the fact that there are different kinds of sorrow. Paul said, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/2Co%207.10">2Co 7:10</a>. We are to have the former and shun the latter. Joseph did not want his brothers sorrowing in a destructive way. His observation about the sovereignty of God was designed, I believe, to point them toward "godly sorrow."</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">I noticed that Leviticus 26 basically mirrors Deuteronomy 28; and that what seems to be the first appearance of the promise in scripture: "And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people." (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Lev%2026.12">Lev 26:12</a>)</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">"There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Joshua%201.5">Joshua 1:5</a>) "There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass." (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Joshua%2021.45">Joshua 21:45</a>) "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/2%20Timothy%201.12">2 Timothy 1:12</a>)</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">Faithlife Study Bible: "God’s commandments and statutes were not aimed at restricting Israel’s prosperity and joy in the land, but at magnifying it." (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Deut%2010.13">Deut 10:13</a>)</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Judges%2020.18">Judges 20:18</a>) Even though Israel was diverted towards one guilty party by the lie of the Levite who murdered his wife, God was still willing to lead His people into battle even in the midst of moral relativism.</span>"<br />
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>Mike: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">I also noticed what might be a lesson here for us as we fight our spiritual enemies. Israel was in the right, yet Benjamin won the first two fights. After the continued proper use of means--fasting, praying, liers in wait--the Lord gave them victory. Let us not be discouraged if we are overcome in the first (or even the second) battle.</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/1%20Chronicles%204.9-10">1 Chronicles 4:9-10</a>) Jabez (Named the man who will cause pain) had low expectations from his mother and perhaps from the community, probably because of his ungodly brothers. Jabez, understanding his weakness, prayed unto God that He would bless his life with joy and He did. Jabez ended up more honorable than his brothers and thus overcame by the grace of God the negative, low expectations of his mother. It is an example that we should not be discouraged by the circumstances and expectations that bring us down but we should trust God and pray that He would bless our work and example to prosper in His Kingdom.</span>"<br />
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>Mike: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you, Luke, for reminding us that our genes, though important, do not determine our future. God often delights in exalting him of low degree!</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Psalm%2028.1">Psalm 28:1</a>) If God is silent to us, we dive into despair and lawlessness. Therefore we must place ourselves before the word of God regularly and pray fervently.</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">What makes David's Psalm 131 different from the Pharisee's prayer in Luke 18 other than inspiration?</span>"<br />
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>Mike: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">The spirit of the two prayers seems to be quite different. David's prayer seems full of humility and submission to God. The Pharisee's prayer, on the other hand, compares himself with other men in a prideful manner. May the Lord bless us to emulate David!</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">Christ has defeated His enemies and ended our war on the cross. Where we have sinned, Grace has more abounded and we have more than we deserve. (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Isaiah%2040.2">Isaiah 40:2</a>)</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">Just as God will never flood the world as He did in Noah's day, He will never be angry and speak ill of us if we are in Christ. <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Isaiah%2054.8-10">Isaiah 54:8-10</a></span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jeremiah prophesied that the ark of the covenant would not be remembered in the Messianic Age. What does that mean for us today? <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Jeremiah%203.16">Jeremiah 3:16</a></span>"<br />
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>Mike: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">Great question, Brother Luke! Sounds like there might be a "better covenant" that would take its place, right? Let us rejoice that it has done so!</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">The sin of Judah was recorded with austerity and promised judgment. <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Jeremiah%2017.1-4">Jeremiah 17:1-4</a> God pronounced His curse on those who trusted in military and economic power. (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Jeremiah%2017.5-6">Jeremiah 17:5-6</a>) On the other hand, God gave His blessing on those who trusted in Him and made God their hope. Their blessing was identical to the blessing in Psalm 1. They were promised to be preserved through the affliction and trials abounding in fruit. (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Jeremiah%2017.7-8">Jeremiah 17:7-8</a>)</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">What do you think the temple in Ezekiel is? Is it the post-exile or the heavenly?</span>"<br />
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>Mike: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">I suspect it is an idealized description of the post-exilic temple designed to impress upon Israel that the ideal would never be built with human hands. That would require the coming of the Messiah, who would build the ultimate temple.</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/John%203.19-21">John 3:19-21</a>) Jesus is the light of the world. Those who live in sin hate the light because their deeds are shown to be evil. Those who follow Christ sincerely love the light because their deeds are shown to be by the working of God. Let us live by the inspection of the word of God, and not fear the light of His holiness.</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/John%201.1">John 1:1</a>, <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/John%201.14">1:14</a> "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/John%208.58">John 8:58</a> "I and my Father are one...The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/John%2010.30">John 10:30</a>, <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/John%2010.33">10:33</a> "And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." <a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/John%2020.28-29">John 20:28-29</a> The Apostle John clearly believed that Jesus is God in the flesh. If his testimony is true, (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/John%2019.35">John 19:35</a>) then Jesus also believes that He Himself is God the Son. Can we trust John's record of Christ?</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you." (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/2%20Corinthians%204.10-12">2 Corinthians 4:10-12</a>) In our death to ourselves and sin, the life of the Lord Jesus to God is displayed in our earthly vessels to life in the holy catholic Church (and her local churches.)</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/1%20Peter%204.4">1 Peter 4:4</a>) It should not be a surprise that the nations round about us think that it's weird that we don't follow alongside them in the pursuit of shallow pleasure; and that they mock us for it. Therefore let us follow the example of Christ and pursue joyfully the will of God.</span>"<br />
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Luke: "<span style="font-size: x-small;">"For there ARE certain men CREPT in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Jude%204">Jude 4</a> emphasis mine) "But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts." (<a href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Jude%2017-18">Jude 17-18</a>) Scripture says that the Great Apostasy in the last days was happening in Jude's day. Being so, This puts the Great Apostasy spoken of in 2 Timothy 3 and 2 Peter 3 to the end of the Mosaic Age, not the end of the church age.</span>"<br />
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>Mike: "<span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; white-space: pre-line;">I agree with your assessment: most references in the New Testament to impending judgment refer to the events surrounding the destruction of the Temple and Jewish nation. Jesus said the great tribulation would occur before his generation expired (</span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Matthew 24.21" data-version="" href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Matthew%2024.21" style="background-color: #fbfbfb; border: 0px; color: #62924c; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-line;" target="_blank">Matthew 24:21</a><span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; white-space: pre-line;">, </span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Matthew 34" data-version="" href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Matthew%2034" style="background-color: #fbfbfb; border: 0px; color: #62924c; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-line;" target="_blank">34</a><span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; white-space: pre-line;">). The apostle John said he was already in "the tribulation" (</span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Revelation 1.9" data-version="esv" href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/esv/Revelation%201.9" style="background-color: #fbfbfb; border: 0px; color: #62924c; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-line;" target="_blank">Revelation 1:9, ESV</a><span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; white-space: pre-line;">) and that the saints of his day knew they were living in the "last hour" (</span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 John 2.18" data-version="esv" href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/esv/1%20John%202.18" style="background-color: #fbfbfb; border: 0px; color: #62924c; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-line;" target="_blank">1 John 2:18, ESV</a><span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; white-space: pre-line;">) because many antichrists had already appeared. The great apostasy with which they were associated had already begun. The good news is that these events marked the termination of the Mosaic age and the full and inauguration of the glorious Messianic age. We rejoice in the increase of the Messiah's government until, finally, all his enemies have been made his footstool (</span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Psalm 110" data-version="" href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/Psalm%20110" style="background-color: #fbfbfb; border: 0px; color: #62924c; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-line;" target="_blank">Psalm 110</a><span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; white-space: pre-line;">). The last enemy to be destroyed will be death itself in the bodily resurrection of the saints (</span><a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Corinthians 15" data-version="" href="http://bible.faithlife.com/bible/1%20Corinthians%2015" style="background-color: #fbfbfb; border: 0px; color: #62924c; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-line;" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 15</a><span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; white-space: pre-line;">). Hallelujah!</span>"<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-86153188788662741712014-01-09T20:32:00.000-06:002014-01-11T13:08:37.685-06:00AAEVS - Conclusion This has been a long series, nineteen months in the making. From hearing feedback from some of you, I believe God has used these posts as a blessing, which I am thankful. I am also delighted that I finally opened up my hopes for the future of the church.<br />
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Unfortunately, a few serious changes have transpired since I started this series back in June 2012. Because of this, discouragement and apathy is threatening to devour the vision and slowly vanish it away. However, we as a church need not dump the vision into the trash because of these changes, if we believe our eschatology more than just the systematic framework; our pastors have left us with an idea that the church that adheres to this view of prophecy ought to become a church that believes and acts like it, even if it makes us stand out. <br />
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But, this is hard for us because we like to remain at least a bit over average, where we stay complacent and unscrutinized by one another and other churches as much as possible. But God will not have any of that, He demands that we seek to be holy as He is holy; that is no compromise. You have a decision to make, will you submit joyfully and vigorously to your heavenly calling or will you walk away slowly in idolatrous pursuits of comfort outside the springing fountains of Christ?<br />
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This will depend on how much you care about Jesus. If He has the words to eternal life, then give Him all you got. The world which we know it and its lusts are passing away, but he or she who does the will of God in His Kingdom abides forever.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-27466409907441507722014-01-08T17:56:00.000-06:002014-01-08T17:59:13.427-06:00AAEVS - The Assurance behind Evangelism<span style="font-size: xx-small;">“We proclaim that His victory will be complete when the nations bow before Him and every sphere of life demonstrates His Lordship. This will happen before the resurrection of our physical bodies. We desire to evangelize with this assurance of success, an assurance based on Jesus’ statement of His possession of all authority and His continued presence with us.” Evangelism Paragraph 2f-h</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">"And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." ~ Matthew 28:17-20</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." ~ 1 Corinthians 15:24-28</span><br />
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Here we are at the final section of this series, at the encouragements that God gives to His soldiers in the faith. We have discussed the mission and the means to fulfill it, but why should we care? What motivates us to leave our comfortable living for possibly long millennia of sacrificial evangelism and discipleship? The reason why is because of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His Resurrection was the future of the whole creation made manifest in the Anno Domini and the hope of the Christian proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In His Great Commission and in His Scriptures, Jesus gave us exceeding great and precious promises regarding His successful reign at the right hand of the Majesty on high, offering us numerous encouragements throughout the entire sacred canon of Scriptures.<br />
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Our pastors gave us three of the most prominent encouragements at the end of their second paragraph:<br />
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1. Demonstration (The Subjection of Life and the Nations)<br />
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The first encouragement is the promises of God regarding the joyful and willing submission of people from every group from all the seven continents of the world. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%202:7-8;%20Psalm%2022:27;%20Psalm%2067;%20Psalm%2072:11,%2017;%20Psalm%2082:8;%20Psalm%2086:9;%20Isaiah%202:2-3;%20Isaiah%2061:11;%20Isaiah%2066:18;%20Daniel%207:13-14;%20Haggai%202:7;%20Mark%2011:17;%20Luke%202:10-11;%20Revelation%207:9-10&version=KJV">Psalm 2:7-8; Psalm 22:27; Psalm 67; Psalm 72:11, 17; Psalm 82:8; Psalm 86:9; Isaiah 2:2-3; Isaiah 61:11; Isaiah 66:18; Daniel 7:13-14; Haggai 2:7; Mark 11:17; Luke 2:10-11; Revelation 7:9-10</a>) These promises extend to every area of life, especially the political powers. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%202:10-12;%20Psalm%2072;%20Psalm%20148:11-13;%20Psalm%20138:4-5;%20Isaiah%2011:1-10;%20Isaiah%2062:1-2;%20Isaiah%2065:17-25;%20Zephaniah%203:14-20;%20Zechariah%208:3-6;%20Zechariah%209:9-17;%20Zechariah%2010;%20Zechariah%2012-13;%20Revelation%2021:24&version=KJV">Psalm 2:10-12; Psalm 72; Psalm 148:11-13; Psalm 138:4-5; Isaiah 11:1-10; Isaiah 62:1-2; Isaiah 65:17-25; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Zechariah 8:3-6; Zechariah 9:9-17; Zechariah 10; Zechariah 12-13; Revelation 21:24</a>) This does not come to pass by revolution or political change but by the word of God.<br />
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But we must confess as the writer of Hebrews that "now we see not yet all things put under him." (Hebrews 2:8) We see now that political leaders are disregarding the law of God for a more secular version, that the science academies are religiously opposed to anything that sounds like a supernatural explanation, that the entertainment industry is fervent in pushing for godless ideals in the culture, that many churches are caught up in various emotional pursuits and some others for no biblical reason are hostile and bitter towards each other. But we do see the atonement of Jesus on the cross for our sins; we see that by the cross He destroyed him that had the power of death, the devil.<br />
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It will all come to fruition at the resurrection of the dead; there God will show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. It is because of this that we know, as Paul wrote, that our labor is not in vain. Not one cup of cold water to one of His thirsty disciples will go to waste. <br />
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2. Dominion (The Authority of Jesus over all)<br />
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In Jesus' preamble to the Great Commission, He declares a statement that fundamentally transforms the perspective of the world: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (Matthew 28:18 ESV) Not complacent to just be a teacher of first-century Jews, He assumes His role as the Lord of the universe of all ages and of all nations. <br />
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What is His domain? First, He states that His authority rests in heaven: the realm where God reigns with joyful submission; the name of Christ is honored perfectly in that place. We do not have to worry if God the Father is going to stand beside His Son in the ministry of saints. Second, He states that His authority is supreme above all governments of any kind, whether it is political, legal, ecclesiastical, patriarchal, local or regional, organizational, etc. As Jesus answered Pilate's assertion of power, "Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above:" (John 19:11) Thus, we can say with Peter to anyone, "We ought to obey God rather than men."<br />
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But the fact that the Lord Jesus is above all means that He has all! He has the right to oversee any decision that anyone makes. We therefore are called to bring "into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (2 Corinthians 10:5) Now some may object, "But that verse could be talking only about private thoughts in an individual Christian's mind." But, even if so, when you are thinking about how certain groups ought to act or respond, you are called to bring even those thoughts (Remember! <em>Every</em> thought!) to the law of Christ; so how should those groups act or respond, under obedience to Christ?<br />
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“There is not one part of our world of thought that than can be hermetically separated from other parts, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!” ~ Abraham Kuyper<br />
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3. Defense (The Presence of Christ with us)<br />
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After giving His commission, Jesus concluded with an encouragement: "behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20 ESV) Jesus did not just step back in His Ascension and watched like an observer what transpired. He, being one essence with God the Holy Spirit, is actively involved with His bride; we see that all through the book of Acts and in the book of Revelation. How can Jesus do this?<br />
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He can because He is God; and God is three persons. God the Father is our Leader and Provider; He makes all the decisions that effect our response and He sees to our needs. God the Son is our Shepherd and Advocate; He gives us rest, renewal, guidance, protection, provision, and family; He intercedes on our behalf before God the Father as our High Priest. God the Holy Spirit is our Comforter and Defender; He brings His words to our attention for peace that passes understanding and defends us from false teaching that disgraces the name of Christ. Thus, Jesus can lead His Church and inspect His professing churches.<br />
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Christ is committed to the very end; He will not back down or abandon the Church in her ministry but will be as fresh and bold to Christians at the last day as He was to His first-century disciples. Thus, we can entrust to Him the future of our children, our church, and our legacy. "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law." (Isaiah 42:4)<br />
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References:<br />
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Kuyper, Abraham Sphere Sovereignty <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-44402399437732697602013-12-31T17:26:00.000-06:002013-12-31T17:26:43.995-06:00AAEVS - The Mission of Evangelism (Part 2)First, we have a vision: what is our goal and how do we go about pursuing it? Jesus our Lord put it into perspective when He taught us to pray, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Our goal then is to provoke people in every land to revere the holy name of God in repentance and discipleship, that God would be all in all. How do we embark on this quest? By making a commitment to make manifest the victory of Christ in our lives and in our world. We do this by remembering the second half of the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." We seek the provision of God, His forgiveness and our forgiveness of others, and His protection from the wiles of the devil.<br />
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Second, we have an aim: what are we trying to accomplish and how do we get there? We have from the Great Commission our calling, to teach and baptize nations. We aim that they would share and enjoy our fellowship with the triune God and with one another. We wish that they would rejoice in the doctrines of grace, the principles of the Protestant Reformation, and most importantly the mysteries of the gospel of Christ. We start by seeking the establishment of churches that love Jesus Christ and worship Him in spirit and in truth; then we seek to teach them in the Scriptures from which thirsty and hungry souls are nourished by the Holy Spirit.<br />
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Third, we evangelize: what should our evangelism look like and how does it go forth? Our evangelism should be optimistic and joyful. (Isaiah 40:1-2; Isaiah 52:6-10; Isaiah 61-62) We do not get caught up in how wrong our society is or how cold our friends are treating us, but we do get caught up in how right God is and how fervent His care and mercy towards His covenant people; and we seek to share His mercy and care to our siblings in the faith and to our community. We seek to proclaim, not complain. First, our proclamation is God-centered, "We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29) Second, our proclamation is urgent, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2) Third, our proclamation is calm and caring, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." (James 1:19-20) Have any of you been converted by the means of angry, disinterested Christians? Let these verses from James be your motto for interacting with one another and with the community: swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.<br />
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Fourth, we seek the means: what do we do and what are we proclaiming? Having established how our evangelism ought to come across, how do we spread the gospel? First, let's start with what we proclaim: The Christ who is victorious over His enemies and gracious to His people; the God who took on human flesh to defeat the tyrannies in high places that controlled the affairs of men and the God who loved His adopted children from eternity and gave His life for them that they may share His happiness. This is the Gospel by which the nations are blessed; how do we announce it? We start with the weapons of our warfare which are not carnal but are mighty through God to pulling down of strongholds, weapons such as the word of God, the fervent prayer of righteous believers, the partaking of the Lord's Supper, the singing of God's praises, and the proclamation of the Gospel.<br />
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Fifth, we disciple nations with God's word: what does the Gospel look like when established in society? The Gospel is meant to transform nations from open sin to open holiness. This is not brought about by political means, although politics are not excluded from it; this is brought about by people choosing to lose their livelihood to follow Christ in every corner of their lives. We do not pay homage to secularism and seek to conquer its domain, namely politics, education, and science. Because we desire to be "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (2 Corinthians 10:5) we seek for the authority of Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth to be recognized in every sphere of life in word and deed.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b></div>
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Now we see that we cannot hold our faith private; it will be scrutinized, mocked, and maybe even opposed by force. But this is the path to glory, the path that our Lord took to conquer the world. We must trust His wisdom and His word to lead us in our interaction in the world; that we would not be ensnared by the expiring games and doctrines of this world but that we would fulfill our mission in this world, to make manifest the victory and grace of Christ in our lives and the lives of many.<br />
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But Jesus did not leave it up to ourselves; He sent His Spirit to go along beside us in the race that is set before us. He gave us His word that He will be with every step of the way; and that will be the subject of the next post, Lord willing.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-10672810149871671982013-12-24T17:03:00.000-06:002013-12-24T17:11:47.458-06:00AAEVS - The Mission of Evangelism (Part 1)<span style="font-size: xx-small;">“Our vision is to be a church dedicated to the proclamation of the gospel throughout the world. Our aim is to make disciples of the nations and establish worshipping communities like our own. Our evangelism is joyous proclamation: we announce the victory of Christ over His enemies and the rescue of His people. By this means, we seek to bring every area of life under the Lordship of Christ.” ~ Evangelism Paragraph 2a-e <br /><br />"For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;" ~ 1 Thessalonians 1:8-9</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">"All of Christ for All of Life for All of the World" ~ Motto of Canon Press</span><br />
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Now we arrive to the last article of the Elders' Vision Statement. First, we talked about the centrality and warfare of the Kingdom; second, we talked about the attributes and systems of a church community; third, we talked about the importance and expression of worship; in this section and the next, we will go over the mission and assurance of evangelism.<br />
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If we're honest, we don't evangelize as we like; we are caught up daily in our own worries and complaints that we ignore the global vision of the Kingdom of Christ in our community and in the world at large. We know we ought to be salt and light, but we are afraid of what the people around us would think of us; we know that God says that the fear of what people think of us is a trap, but we fear the loss of our privacy and dignity from our peers. Nevertheless, it seems the reason why we don't evangelize much is because we lack a passion for evangelism.<br />
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So how do we become excited, by the Spirit of God, for evangelism? To be passionate about evangelism, we must be passionate about the Gospel; and to be passionate about the Gospel, we must rejoice in its fruit in our lives. Once we rejoice in God's mercy and what He is working in us, we desire that others might partake of the glory and joy of the triune God.<br />
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To do this, let me give you an outline of evangelism which is an acronym based on the EV statement: <b>MAP</b> (<b>M</b>ission, <b>A</b>ction, and <b>P</b>urpose [Goal])<br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mission</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dedication</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nation Discipleship and Establishment of Worshipping Communities</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rejoicing</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Purpose</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: magenta; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gospel in Every Place</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: magenta; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like-minded Unity and Worship</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: magenta; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Bold Message</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: magenta; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proclaimed Victory</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>I will go over this in more detail in my next post.<br />
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(If a lot of you find the text color to be annoying rather than interesting, I will remove it)<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-73075039462643836632013-11-30T23:33:00.000-06:002013-12-02T21:05:08.725-06:00AAEVS - Expressing our Worship (Part 3)<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Public Prayer</b></div>
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Jesus denounced the religious leaders for seeking to gain recognition and praise from the public by praying in the public sphere. (Matthew 6:5-6) So why would we as disciples of Jesus want to have a practice in our services that seems to run contrary to what our Lord has said? While we must not dare to dismiss our Lord's admonition to a private prayer life, the catholicity of Holy Scripture has a broader vision for prayer than just the 'closet;' nations are destined to provoke one another to seek quickly the Lord in prayer. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Zechariah%208:20-23&version=KJV">Zechariah 8:20-23</a>) How can this be? It is because the Church is a Trinitarian body, one and many. Therefore what a church does as a body in her assembly is analogous to what an individual follower of Christ does in his or her private devotions.<br />
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"Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified." (1 Corinthians 14:16-17) Here, Paul is stating here the importance of prayer being heard by one another; if prayer is meant to be just a time of private pious expression, why would the Spirit through Paul be concerned that other listeners understand and respond to public prayers? It should be clear then that public prayers are neither inherently sinful nor spiteful towards the commandments of Christ, especially when they are in the context of the local assembly. As indicated in the passage and others, public prayer is for the edification and unification of the body.<br />
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How does one's public prayer build up one another? Prayer reminds us that we are not alone and not self-sufficient in our earthly mission; It reminds us that God is in control and open to listening to us, etc. Therefore as a believer grows in grace and displays it in his or her prayers, other listeners are refreshed in their walk and are encouraged in the grace of God. An objection may arise, "Wouldn't that encourage pray-ers to be show-offs of their spirituality?" That is not a problem unknown to all of external worship; if a pray-er is focused on God the Father and is interested in the edification of the hearers, that should not be an issue.<br />
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What and how should we pray? <a href="http://redeemed-dianoia-thinking.blogspot.com/2013/07/aaevs-putting-together-christ-centered.html">Here</a> is my previous post on the subject.<br />
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How is worship expressed in public prayer? First, public prayer displays who really is in charge of our churches, families, and lives. In prayer, we acknowledge our weakness and His strength, our poverty and His bounty, and our hopelessness and His happiness. Second, public prayer reminds us in Christ that God is cheerfully at our 'service' and He is always near when we need Him; also prayer reminds us of the work that God is doing through His saints in uttermost parts of the earth, how they need His Spirit in all things. Third, we participate by being ready in our hearts and minds to pray whenever we are called upon to do so. If not, we participate by praying in our hearts and affirming out loud the truths and godly wishes that are prayed out loud.<br />
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<b>Partaking of the Lord's Supper</b> </div>
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"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." (1 Corinthians 11:26) This is an odd practice; while the other forms of worship use words to express our awe of what Christ has done, this ordinance uses food as an expression of worship. However, this was the most important practice for the Church such that it is why they gathered together on the Lord's Day. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2020:7&version=KJV">Acts 20:7</a>)<br />
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So what is the significance of the Lord's Supper? During the Last Supper, Jesus, our Passover redefined the practice of Passover. For centuries, Passover was a demonstration of God's protection of Israel with the blood on the doorposts against His wrath upon the firstborn of Egypt, a reenactment and refreshment of that historical phenomenon for future generations. Jesus then redefined the Passover to demonstrate His crucifixion, God's propitiation for the sins of both Jews and Gentiles so that He may 'pass over' them in the presence of Jesus Christ. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians gives the "ABCs" of the Lord's Supper: Allegiance, Blessing, and Communion. (<a href="http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=105101112250">Here</a> is a sermon by Bro. Mike for more details on these things)<br />
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Douglas Wilson has good articles on his blog concerning Communion <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/it-will-be-yours.html">here</a>, <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/show-the-lords-death.html">here</a>, <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/turning-into-grace.html">here</a>, <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/christ-is-your-christ.html">here</a>, <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/eating-grace-by-grace.html">here</a>, <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/faith-needs-to-believe.html">here</a>, <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/name-tags-and-the-lords-supper.html">here</a>, <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/christ-is-not-at-the-end-of-a-supply-chain.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/preparing-food-preparing-people.html">here</a>.<br />
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How is worship expressed in partaking of the Lord's Supper? We remember the work of Jesus Christ, the cost and joy that it took for Him to be made sin for us that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. We remember Jesus' promise that He will partake with us in His Kingdom; and we remember that we partake as a body that is being made into one bread. We participate by examining our own motives and convictions; we recall to mind our allegiance to Christ and His new covenant.<br />
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(This is all I have time to cover in this section, in the next section we will discuss evangelism.) <br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-4219158993146622612013-11-16T14:57:00.000-06:002013-11-16T14:57:29.533-06:00AAEVS - Expressing our Worship (Part 2)Now we look at the activities that our elders had prescribed for our church (and for any church) which I believe is biblical and important. We will look at four of these activities and how they relate to the worship of Christ:<br />
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<b>Proclamation of the Word</b></div>
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"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine." (2 Timothy 4:2) This indicates a continual function in the body of Christ. This preacher is not somebody speaking what is on his mind; this is a messenger speaking with the authority and word of God, a proclamation of what is true and righteous. This is an assertive, in-your-face proclamation; which makes this ministry so awkward in our postmodern, "everyone's opinion is right and nobody is really wrong except the 'intolerant' people" culture.<br />
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What is this proclamation about? <a href="http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabitianyabwile/2012/11/27/how-do-you-define-preaching-3/?repeat=w3tc">Here</a> is how Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile defined Spirit-fill proclamation: “Preaching is God speaking in the power of His Spirit about His Son from His word through a man.” It is a Christ-centered message. "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2) And why only Jesus Christ and His crucifixion? Because "by [Christ] all things consist." (Colossians 1:17) Christ is the intersection that brings everything together; and most importantly He is the only access to God the Father.<br />
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How is worship expressed in the Proclamation of the word? First, Spirit-fill proclamation ought to lift up awe for the majesty and love of Jesus Christ and the sweetness of all of Holy Scripture. Second, it makes sense that if the preacher is blessed by the Spirit to proclaim His word and His grace, God is still intensely interested in His local church and is present in our midst; also when the preacher touches on saints from history or the present day, we are reminded of their testimonies and are inspired to press on into the Kingdom. Third, we participate in by affirming out loud the truths that are proclaimed; we participate by testing the sermon, holding fast that which is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22)<br />
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<b>Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs</b></div>
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"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16) The mistake that many people make when making preaching the center of the service is that they unintentionally imply that the "song service" is sort of time-consumer, just something to do to use up the time; the "preaching service" is what 'really matters.' But Scripture differs with that notation; the singing of God's praises is a very important ministry in the worship of Christ.<br />
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However, sometimes when we read or hear of God commanding us to praise Him, He comes across to us as C.S. Lewis called it, "an old vain woman seeking compliments." Here is his refutation of that sinful notation: </div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">"The most obvious fact about praise — whether of God or any thing — strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless . . . shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. The world rings with praise — lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game — praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least.…</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value.</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed."</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #231f20; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">~ Reflections on the Psalms, C.S. Lewis</span></blockquote>
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And singing is the consummation of thankfulness. Even those who do not consider themselves interested in singing find themselves in private repeating some tune they think is jubilant. What does Scripture say about singing?</div>
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First, singing praises to God is the honorable thing to do. "Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely." (Psalm 147:1) Don't let some cranky God-hater tell you otherwise. There is nothing to be ashamed of in worshiping the God of the Bible. </div>
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Second, singing should be bold. "Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob." (Psalm 81:1) Singing is no private matter; it is intended to be heard loud and clear.</div>
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Third, singing should be fresh. "Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints." (Psalm 149:1) Our songs should not become an old hat; as we experience more and more of the grace of God, we ought to find more avenues in God's word to express it.</div>
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Fourth, people must understand what they are singing about. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2047:7;%201%20Corinthians%2014:15&version=KJV">Psalm 47:7; 1 Corinthians 14:15</a>) This should be a no-brainer; however, we tend to distract our minds from the service that we miss the gravity of what we are singing. We ought to meditate and consider what we are singing. </div>
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Fifth, singing should be melodiously excellent. "Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise." (Psalm 33:3) While our hearts are the main concern in His worship, we should not neglect to display that grace within us in mastering the melody. This is not to beat anyone on the head with expectations that are discouraging; it is to raise our potential for what we can do through the Spirit.<br />
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How is worship expressed in the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs? First, the songs portray Jesus as the sole Caregiver and Liberator of our souls; this lifts up our hearts in thanksgiving and awe. Second, the singing of God's praises assures us that God is present; these songs are written by Christians with a background, present in our remembrance of their testimony. Third, we participate by singing with grace and thanksgiving for His mercy and strength; we call out songs to exhort one another to edification. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-35876228776577151372013-11-02T16:23:00.001-05:002013-11-02T16:23:41.462-05:00AAEVS - Expressing our Worship (Part 1)<span style="font-size: xx-small;">“Our vision is to be a church that enters the worship service with awe towards God. We will view ourselves as ascending unto His presence with all other saints, both in heaven and on earth. We desire to actively worship God, not passively go through prescribed motions. This will include activities such as: confession of sin; reading of Scripture: public prayers; singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs; giving; praise; the proclamation of the word; and partaking of the Lord’s Supper.” ~ Worship Paragraph 3</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">"God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him." ~ Psalm 89:7</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight." Acts 20:7</span></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire." ~ Hebrews 12:28-29</span><br />
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In the first section, we looked at worship in general and the importance of it; in the second section, we looked at the means of building a worshipful attitude. Now in this section we will look at how worship is expressed, particularly in the public worship of God on the Lord's Day. It is appropriate that the first half of the paragraph still deals with the attitude of the worshipers of Christ, because Jesus said that good words come from good hearts. (Matthew 12:35) These three sentences contain three senses that involve how we ought to strive for a more edifying worship on the Lord's Day. The last sentence states what activities we ought to use to express our worship.<br />
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1. The Sense of Preeminence<br />
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Once we come to grips with whom we are worshiping, our focus becomes enraptured with God's holiness and it should bring joy and trembling to our hearts. Just as it would be rude and silly in a public art gallery to stare at the floor and remark loudly how ugly the floor is, so it is to worship only with personal concerns and other earthly problems. On the other hand, we are not talking about some Gnostic spirituality that ignores the issues of our earthly existence; we worship the living God who took on human flesh and bore the sorrows that plague our fallen universe.<br />
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One way people find awe in God is the vastness of the universe and how we immensely seem so insignificant in the midst of it. "Astronomers are now convinced that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on the beaches of the world. When you consider that our sun - the star - is the grain of sand, this makes Earth infinitesimally small! And on this eensy speck of earth, out of the billions of people, the Lord of the universe came to earth to save you. Truly, the heavens declare not only His glory, but His mercy!" ~ Joni Eareckson Tada, as quoted in 'The Heavens Proclaim His Glory'<br />
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Another way to find awe is to contemplate the irreducibly complex nano-machinery that the Lord has designed in the biological cells. This video says about all that needs to be said:<br />
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<a href="http://creation.com/atp-synthase"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://creation.com/atp-synthase</span></a> </div>
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But the most important way to find awe is in Scripture. "Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word. I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil." Psalm 119:161-162<br />
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2. The Sense of Presence<br />
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When we gather in the assembly, it is natural and easy to assume that what we see in our congregation is what is really present in our midst. But God says that there is more than what meets the eye. For example, He told His disciples that He is present in the midst of two or three who meet with the authority of Christ. (Matthew 18:20) Paul in the Spirit told the Colossians that "though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ." (Colossians 2:5) Do we need a course in metaphysics in order to understand it and take comfort in it? No, let's just look at what God said about His presence and the presence of His Church; and let's believe it.<br />
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So how do we know that God is in our church in a special way? Is there an objective way of knowing His presence without demanding His full, unveiled presence here and now? Thankfully, God gave us ways to know that He is near to us: (which assembly is the gate of heaven; <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2028:16-17&version=KJV">Genesis 28:16-17</a>) <br />
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He dwells in the joyful praises of His faithful people. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2022:3-4&version=KJV">Psalm 22:3-4</a>) He is present with the lowly and penitent. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2057:15&version=KJV">Isaiah 57:15</a>) He is present even in the midst of a faithful few who trust in Christ's authority and love. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2022:22;%20Matthew%2018:20&version=KJV">Psalm 22:22; Matthew 18:20</a>) He dwells with those who seek to live out the words of Jesus. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014:23&version=KJV">John 14:23</a>) He is present when profession of faith and brotherly love is made. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%204:14-16&version=KJV">1 John 4:14-16</a>)<br />
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Scripture also states that not only are we in the presence of the triune God, we are in the midst of a nation; a Church of redeemed sinners past and present that is bought with His blood. How do we sense their presence? The Spirit connects us beyond the physical realm, as Paul said in Colossians. How does He do it? By the testimonies of how God has and is preparing and using men and women in the faith past and present to advance His Kingdom throughout the world. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Thessalonians%203:6-7;%20Hebrews%2012:1&version=KJV">1 Thessalonians 3:6-7; Hebrews 12:1</a>)<br />
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3. The Sense of Participation<br />
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When God tells us to not abandon "the assembling of ourselves together," (Hebrews 10:25) He does not intend for us to arrive at the service and have someone do all the worship for us. Rather as He stated in Leviticus, "he shall offer it of his own voluntary will" (Leviticus 1:3) which shows that individual worship is active. This does not mean that members cannot be influenced by each other to worship, as Hebrew 10:24 reminds us. But it does mean that it is the responsibility of every member to come to grips with the God they are professing.<br />
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Some of us (maybe all of us) may find that we lack motivation to actively participate in the church. One reason why that is may be that we lack conviction; we may come to church just because that's what our parents made us do and/or because that's what our church leaders want us to do. But who is Christ to us? Is He the ultimate treasure of our souls? Is He a cause worth struggling for? And what is the Church? Is she not the house of our Lord? Is she not the means by which God brings His Kingdom into our community? If all of your answers are yes and you're still apathetic, it's likely you are mistaken on what you believe God is or you have blessings that you have attributed credit to other sources instead of the God of the Bible.<br />
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The best way to find conviction is to trust in the authority and reliability of Scripture. When you trust God in what He says about everything, then you can commit to serving Him faithfully 100% all the way.<br />
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<a href="http://therebelution.com/blog/2005/10/a-lesson-from-the-vikings-do-hard-things/#.UnVla_m-2uI">Here</a>'s a link from the Rebelution which is an article on the Vikings, exhorting us to take initiative in our Christian discipleship.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-42966630513082265622013-10-11T17:38:00.002-05:002013-10-11T17:38:22.634-05:00Elders' Vision Statement - EvangelismThe kingdom expands through church multiplication. Local churches are the only divinely authorized agents for missionary work[1].<br />
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Our vision is to be a church dedicated to the proclamation of the gospel throughout the world[2]. Our aim is to make disciples of the nations and establish worshipping communities like our own[3]. Our evangelism is joyous proclamation: we announce the victory of Christ over His enemies and the rescue of His people[4]. By this means, we seek to bring every area of life under the Lordship of Christ[5]. We proclaim that His victory will be complete when the nations bow before Him and every sphere of life demonstrates His Lordship[6]. This will happen before the resurrection of our physical bodies[7]. We desire to evangelize with this assurance of success, an assurance based on Jesus’ statement of His possession of all authority and His continued presence with us[8].<br />
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[1] Acts 13:1-3<br />
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[2] Mark 16:15-16<br />
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[3] Matthew 28:18-20<br />
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[4] I John 3:5,8, Colossians 2:13-15, Ephesians 3:10<br />
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[5] Genesis 1:28-30, Matthew 5:5<br />
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[6] Psalm 72:4-14, Isaiah 11:1-9,<br />
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[7] I Corinthians 15:20-28<br />
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[8] Matthew 28:18, John 3:16-17Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-9619341735334909332013-10-11T17:38:00.001-05:002013-10-11T17:38:14.682-05:00Elders' Vision Statement - WorshipThe coming of the kingdom transformed the public worship of God from a flesh-based to a Spirit-based orientation[i]. The church is now the temple where saints gather to worship their Lord[ii].<br />
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Our vision is to be a congregation of saints who offer their bodies as living sacrifices unto God, ordering our services in accordance to His revealed word[iii]. We will practice family-integrated worship as we offer these spiritual sacrifices[iv]. This is our reasonable worship and means that we submit to His will (as found in His word)[v]. We desire to display this by setting apart the first day of the week to worship the Lord with fellow saints. We do not view the Lord’s Day worship as drudgery, but as an occasion to celebrate His victorious work on our behalf and rejoice in the rest He has provided for us[vi]. Because the Lord’s service is a reverential occasion, we will seek to prepare ourselves on Saturday evening for public worship on the Lord’s Day[vii].<br />
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Our vision is to be a church that enters the worship service with awe towards God[viii]. We will view ourselves as ascending unto His presence with all other saints, both in heaven and on earth[ix]. We desire to actively worship God, not passively go through prescribed motions[x]. This will include activities such as: confession of sin; reading of Scripture: public prayers; singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs; giving; praise; the proclamation of the word; and partaking of the Lord’s Supper[xi].<br />
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[i] Hebrews 8<br />
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[ii] Ephesians 2:19-22<br />
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[iii] Romans 12:1<br />
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[iv] Deuteronomy 31:11-13, Psalm 54:6<br />
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[v] Romans 12:2<br />
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[vi] Psalm 95, 96:9-13, 122, Hebrews 4,<br />
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[vii] I Samuel 7:3, II Chronicles 35:6, Job 11:13-15<br />
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[viii] Leviticus 19:30, Psalm 89:7, Hebrews 12:28<br />
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[ix] Hebrews 12:22-24<br />
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[x] Psalm 29:2<br />
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[xi] James 5:16, Deuteronomy 31:11, I Timothy 4:13, Eph. 5:19, 6:18, Acts 2:42, I Cor. 11:23-33Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-4756081927307607092013-10-11T17:38:00.000-05:002013-10-11T17:38:06.128-05:00Elders' Vision Statement - CommunityThe local church is the vehicle for the expansion of God’s kingdom. Jesus established the kingdom with the promise that it would grow[ii]. We read in Acts how kingdom expansion occurs through the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom[iii]. This results in the conversion of sinners and the establishment of communities of believers.<br />
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Our vision is for our church to be a group of covenanted believers, a community of saints. We desire to display God’s love to one another through encouragement, accountability, exhortation and discipline[iv]. We want to support one another and seek to alleviate each other’s needs whenever possible[v].<br />
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Our vision is to be a community of discipleship[vi]. We will practice discipleship primarily through older men teaching younger men and older women teaching younger women how to fulfill their callings. We desire to support parents as they raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We will seek to serve God’s people within our community and in the kingdom of God at large with the spiritual gifts God has given us[vii]. We want to be known for our warm and hospitable fellowship, both as a church and as families[viii]. We will seek to be a community who can disagree with one another on non-essentials (meaning things that do not define one as a Christian) without dividing[ix]. Our vision is multi-generational[x]. We realize that the advancement of God’s kingdom is a long-term process, therefore we desire to be examples of faithfulness that future generations would desire to follow. <br />
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[i] Matthew 16:18<br />
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[ii] Matthew 13:31-33<br />
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[iii] Acts 1:3, 8:12, 14:22, 19:8, 20:25, 28:23, 28:31<br />
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[iv] I Thessalonians 5:14, Hebrews 3:13, Matthew 18:15-17<br />
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[v] Acts 2:45, 4:35<br />
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[vi] Titus 2:1-6<br />
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[vii] Ephesians 4:8-13<br />
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[viii] I Peter 4:9<br />
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[ix] Ephesians 4:15, Romans 14:3<br />
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[x] Deuteronomy 7:9Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-76259528033816640402013-10-11T17:37:00.000-05:002013-10-11T17:37:57.764-05:00Elders' Vision Statement - The Kingdom of GodThe kingdom of God is a central concept in God’s word. Prophecies of its coming, details of its establishment by our Lord Jesus Christ, and descriptions of its future form a large and important part of God’s revelation to us[i].<br />
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Our vision is for our church to reflect the centrality of the kingdom in every area of life. We desire that our decisions and activities revolve around the fact that we are part of the kingdom God has established. We want to recognize that this kingdom is God’s instrument for His reclamation of the world[ii]. Therefore, we desire to be a church with a vision for Christ’s growing kingdom[iii]. We rejoice in the events that brought about the kingdom of God (the incarnation of Jesus Christ, His life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to rule and reign at the right hand of the Father) and seek to be an active part of its growth, primarily through preaching the gospel[iv].<br />
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Our vision for the kingdom of God is not dependent, however, on us acting on our own. This kingdom is the project of the Almighty Lord. He has revealed to us that it will be overwhelmingly successful in history—in this church-age dispensation—and in human culture[v]. God has ordained that it transform the world. We desire, therefore, to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that His power working through us will advance kingdom purposes[vi].<br />
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Our vision is to reflect our kingdom orientation in our relationships with other churches. We desire to make common cause with all whom we believe show allegiance to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection[vii]. While maintaining our Baptist heritage, we want to engage our brethren from other denominations in charitable dialogue and mission[viii]. We hope to remove unnecessary walls between ourselves and our brethren.<br />
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[i] Psalm 145:11-13, Isaiah 9:7, Daniel 2:44, 7:14,18,22, Obadiah 1:21, Micah 4:8<br />
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[ii] Isaiah 35:1-7, 62:7-12<br />
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[iii] Acts 8:12<br />
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[iv] I Corinthians 2:3-7, I John 1:1-4<br />
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[v] Psalm 72:7-8,10-11, Ps. 110, Isaiah 45:14, I Corinthians 15:24-25, I Timothy 6:15<br />
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[vi] Romans 14:17<br />
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[vii] Romans 16:1-15,23,<br />
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[viii] Acts 11:27-30Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-4043069961267649842013-09-27T21:28:00.000-05:002013-10-12T16:55:00.872-05:00AAEVS - Preparing for Worship<span style="font-size: xx-small;">“Because the Lord’s service is a reverential occasion, we will seek to prepare ourselves on Saturday evening for public worship on the Lord’s Day.” ~ Worship Paragraph 2f<br /><br />"And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." ~ 1 Samuel 7:3<br /><br />"So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses." ~ 2 Chronicles 35:6</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">"Why does the Lord tell us to remember the Sabbath day? The Larger Catechism (Q. 121) answers that this is “partly, because we are very ready to forget it.” Knowing our weakness, the Lord tells us, as part of his moral law, to make special efforts to keep the day for rest, worship, and works of necessity and mercy , separated unto him. (Holy means “separated unto God.”) It is sobering to realize that failure to keep the Sabbath day separated unto the Lord is on a par with idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, stealing, and lying. That alone should be a powerful rebuke to us when we regard the Sabbath day as our day rather than the Lord’s, and when we seek our own pleasure rather than his (see Isa. 58: 13). If we think of the Lord’s Day for anything beyond what God has ordained it to be, we are guilty of a serious form of idolatry of self. As a major part of your preparing for Lord’s Day worship , plan ahead— that is, “remember”— to keep that whole day separate for God’s purposes for it." ~William Shishko, <i>Helps for Worship</i> (Kindle Locations 171-172). Committee on Christian Education. </span></div>
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So why did I separate this sentence of the paragraph when all of it goes together? Because setting aside a time to prepare for the Lord's Day is unfamiliar to some of us. We sometimes just go into the church building, persevere through the service, and hope that we will get something edifying from it. But what does it mean to come before God on the Lord's Day? It means coming before the Sovereign Lord of the universe; this makes the Lord's Day not just special but venerable. Therefore as children of the King, should we not ready ourselves for His appearance? Just as musicians practice their instruments before their performance in public, we ought to "practice" our hearts before we come into the presence of our gracious and awesome God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. <a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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I, for the past two years, have tried to pioneer this practice; I have not come up with a genius blueprint to prepare for the Lord's Day. But I've learned some things contemplating my experience with preparation so let me give you seven lessons for preparing for worship:</div>
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1. Don't cram all your preparation; do what you need to do with a lot of time.<br />
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2. Keep it simple and fresh.<br />
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3. Don't worry if you neglect preparation; you can always renew yourself at any time.<br />
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4. Pray throughout your preparation.<br />
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5. Build wonder into your preparation. Leave it mysterious.<br />
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6. Have grace in your hearts. Remind yourself of the attitude of Jesus towards imperfect sinners.<br />
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7. Remind yourself of the fundamentals of the Gospel of Christ.<br />
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We do not have to do it perfectly in order to worship God; just remember that purpose is to reorient the heart away from ourselves and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-77200548669300428722013-09-20T11:58:00.000-05:002013-10-12T16:55:00.890-05:00AAEVS - The Importance of Worship (Part 2)<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>The Nature of God</strong></div>
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All humanity knows that the Creator has revealed Himself in creation: His intelligent design, His just morality, His logical thoughts, and His direct revelation. So what makes God who He is? Of all of His wonderful attributes, it is His holiness that distinguishes Him as God. Holiness is not an easy word to define, so let me give my own definition: A holy being is righteously, majestically, and beautifully separated from elements that are sinful, chaotic, and/or mundane. <br />
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All three of those characteristics are intertwined; in a way they refer to the same thing. Righteousness exalts those who live by it; it is pleasing when it is established among God's people. Majesty is upheld by just standards; it invokes awe and joy in those that contemplate it. Beauty is molded by righteous consideration and contemplation; it commands respect and awe in those that behold it. God is the only one who is perfectly all three: righteous, majestic, and beautiful.<br />
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Because of this, God has a right to be regarded as our standard, our praise, and our joy. It would be senseless to reject Him for idols that have to borrow from Him to give any pleasure at all. <br />
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<b>God's Revealed Will</b></div>
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Because we have been bought by the blood of Christ, we are under His Lordship; and because of our sinful tendency to become self-preoccupied and disinterested in God, He finds it necessary to remind us that He is worthy of our time and energy spend to His honor and praise. This is not because He needs it but because we need it; what He commands is for our best interest. (Deuteronomy 10:13)<br />
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That said, Christ is our Lord; and throughout Scripture He orders us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. In the first five books of the Bible, He shows us how seriously we must take His worship. In the historical books, He expresses how important obedience is in worship. In the Psalms, He calls us to praise Him always and remember what He has done. In the prophets, He rebukes those who take the worship of God lightly and formally. In the Gospels, He emphasizes the importance of the heart in worship. In Acts, the belief of the gospel is supposed to lead people to worship Christ. In the Epistles of Paul, He urges us to uphold New Covenant worship by the Spirit in truth. In Revelation, He unveils for us the worship of Christ in heaven; He shows us how through the means of worship He conquers the world.<br />
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Because of this, He can assure us that we will be rewarded and He will be glorified.<br />
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<b>Our Joy (Christian Hedonism)</b> </div>
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If you don't get this, read <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/books/desiring-god">Desiring God</a>, particularly the introduction and the chapter on worship. God is not ashamed if His people are seeking their enjoyment in Him; that's why they are created. He has put in everyone a hunger for joy which only He can give; thus whom or what we worship is what we delight in. Does this mean that Christians must chemically enjoy Theology, Bible Studies, and Church services in order to worship God? No, because those things are meant to bring us closer in fellowship with God, not to be enjoyed in of themselves; those things, as God tends to work, overflow into our daily observations and give them meaning.<br />
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If this is hard to grasp, let me give the motto of the Christian Hedonist: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." When we delight in the being of God, we are expressing His worth. How do we delight in God? By remembering that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17) By looking at the revelation of His word and of the person of Christ.<br />
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Because of this, worship is a feast for us; we partake of His happiness because He is happy and when we are in Him, we too are blessed. If we do not rejoice in Christ, we need to examine ourselves for idols to crush and put in their proper place.<br />
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<b>Our Stability</b></div>
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As the Spirit said through the prophet Haggai, our livelihood is dependent on our worship. If our lives are miserable and dry, it is likely that we are neglecting the public worship of God and the advancement of His Kingdom. This is not to say that our well-being and happiness are to be our top priority; we know our Lord's requirements of His disciples to let go of all earthy attachments to follow Him. But when we have by confession given up everything for Him, He entrusts to us our stuff to be richly enjoyed to His glory.<br />
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However, when our priority shifts from His house of worship to our daily attempts to find pleasure outside of His Kingdom, He chastens us by leaving us discontent and bitter; and when we are self-preoccupied, we are never content with our circumstances so we are left with a black hole of desire that only God can fill and overflow.<br />
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But when we repent and prioritize the worship of God and the advancement of His Kingdom, He blesses us with peace with Him and with one another. We can be content with our circumstances yet not complacent with our relationship with God and with the spiritual state of the nations.<br />
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Because of this, we cannot afford to neglect the public assembly of God's people and the ministry to the community; we need to beware of the deceitfulness of our heart that distorts our view of our relationship to God and one another.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b> </div>
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Now you may be saying, "This section doesn't look like what the paragraph is about." No it does not, but we cannot move forward with those things in that paragraph if we do not see the need for worship; how can we order our services - how can we practice family-integrated worship - how can we set apart Sunday for celebration and rejoicing - if we miss the significance and blessing of being in the Lord's presence?<br />
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When we can willingly submit to His call to worship, we can offer our bodies as living sacrifices for our reasonable worship, knowing that they will be given back to us in the resurrection on the last day. We can order our services according to the Scriptures, knowing the promise that the glory of the Lord will appear. We can raise our children in the worship of God, knowing that the promise of the Gospel is not only for us but also our children and whomever the Lord may call. We can view the Lord's day as a occasion to celebrate and rejoice in the victorious work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the grace that is bestowed upon us when we believed, knowing that it is always true and relevant.<br />
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And we can prepare for the coming Lord's Day, knowing that it is an awesome and sober event to participate in and to come before the presence of the Creator and Redeemer of the universe; and that preparation is the topic of the next section.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04250688021918581857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8600270787750431761.post-73221006592798125752013-09-14T18:07:00.001-05:002013-10-12T16:55:00.886-05:00AAEVS - The Importance of Worship (Part 1)<span style="font-size: xx-small;">"Our vision is to be a congregation of saints who offer their bodies as living sacrifices unto God, ordering our services in accordance to His revealed word. We will practice family-integrated worship as we offer these spiritual sacrifices. This is our reasonable worship and means that we submit to His will (as found in His word). We desire to display this by setting apart the first day of the week to worship the Lord with fellow saints. We do not view the Lord’s Day worship as drudgery, but as an occasion to celebrate His victorious work on our behalf and rejoice in the rest He has provided for us. Because the Lord’s service is a reverential occasion, we will seek to prepare ourselves on Saturday evening for public worship on the Lord’s Day." ~ Worship Paragraph 2</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">"Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house." Haggai 1:8-9</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." ~ Romans 12:1</span></div>
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We've looked at why the Kingdom is important; we've looked at what the Kingdom looks like here and now. Now we'll look at how the Kingdom of God is established which is the worship of God in this world. What do we mean by "worship?" What is it? Some people say that worship is performing special rituals; others say worship is a good feeling when certain religious activities are practiced. But what is worship, particularly how does a Christian worship the true and living God? And why does it matter? First, let's look at a couple of ministers' definitions to get a sense of what worship is.<br />
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One comes from Isaac Guess, pastor of Ripley PBC in Ripley, MS. In his article, "<a href="http://ripleypbc.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/refocusingworship2.pdf">Refocusing Worship</a>" he gives his definition:</div>
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Consider the meanings of the New Testament words for worship as given by <i>Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words</i>: “to make obeisance, do reverence to, serve, stressing the feeling of awe or devotion.” Vine notes that worship is “the direct acknowledgment to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done such acknowledgment.” Worship, then, is an awe-filled, reverent display of praise to God. Notice that it is to be completely God focused.</blockquote>
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The other one comes from Douglas Wilson, pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, ID. In a <a href="http://www.canonwired.com/featured/definition-of-worship/">sermon clip</a> from Canon Wired, he gives his definition which is that the believer makes himself or herself available to do what is directed by God. </div>
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Looking at them together, they are not the same. So then are they contradictory? Not if you note that they are drawing from a common source. As Doug Wilson stated in the clip, this is exemplified in Isaiah's encounter with God in Isaiah 6 (as well as Paul's conversion in Acts 9.) So what are three important elements of worship found in those accounts? </div>
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1. The Realization of God and His Holiness<br />
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We see God for who He is, putting away human misconceptions, feelings, and upbringing. He is totally separate from creation, distinct in the righteous, majestic, beautiful way. Isaiah experienced it when he saw the Lord seated on a throne, being praised by the heavenly host. Paul experienced it when the light of God's glory came upon him on the road to Damascus. <br />
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2. The Realization of Self and Redemption<br />
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Once we see God and how holy He is, our attention turns back to ourselves and we see that we are insignificant in His presence; we see ourselves as sinners wrapped in sinfulness, worthy to be eternally miserable in this life and the next. But then God shows His grace in Christ and we see His everlasting love in salvation. Isaiah experienced it when he recognized his sin and received God's cleansing. Acts 9 does not mention how Paul saw himself in the presence of Christ, but elsewhere in Scripture he expresses deep regret over his past conduct. So perhaps when Jesus revealed Himself to him, Paul realized that he was fighting bitterly against God's redemptive plan and was like the disobedient Israelites of old. But then perhaps he recognized who was speaking to him, the promised Messiah that would take the sins of His people on Himself; obviously He didn't have to take the time to reveal Himself and change his heart, but He did which showed Paul that God loved him from eternity.<br />
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3. The Realization of Duty and Privilege <br />
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Now that we experience a piece of the majesty and splendor of our Lord, He calls on His people to work out His redemptive plan in the world through His power. Seeing His glory and His grace, how can we let this opportunity pass by? We have been drafted in His army and adopted into His family, how could we turn Him down and refuse? Isaiah experienced it when God called for someone to represent Him to Israel. "Here am I, Lord! Send me!" Paul experienced it when he learned of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. "Lord, what will you have me to do?" </div>
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So why is worship so important to the Christian life? I'll give four reasons why in the next post.<br />
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