SouldOut

Great quote from John Piper in his forward to CJ Mahaney’s book- “Worldliness- Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World“.

“The gospel makes all the difference between whether you are merely conservative or whether you are conquering worldliness in the power of the Spirit for the glory of Christ.”

Mark Dever says “Worldliness is normally invisible to us, like water to a fish. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so dangerous to us.”

It is worth spending some time thinking about how you view worldliness and what John meant when he wrote- “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

Piper slammed it out of the park yesterday in his talk on the life, theology and philosophy of CS Lewis. Well worth your time to watch or, if you want to download the audio you can get it here.

William Cowper

I’ve never really studied poetry other than in a freshman English class or something like that. But I’ve always been fascinated by the Psalms and many of the classic hymns. They take the human pathos and put theology behind it.  In my church, we are much more likely to sing a Chris Tomlin song than one of the old hymns, but even Tomlin sees the genius and depth that many of these hymns have and he incorporates some of them into his music. So, that said, here is a great hymn (poetry) by William Cowper that might just be what your soul needs…

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purpose will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
the bud may have bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain:
God is his own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

I’ve been going through Richard Foster’s “Celebration of Discipline” with a couple of guys I meet with on Sunday nights and we are looking at the chapter on “Study” as a personal discipline this week. He ends the chapter with these wise words that we should spend some time thinking about-

We would do well to study institutions and cultures and the forces that shape them. Also, we should ponder the events of our time, noting first, with a spirit of discernment, what things our culture lifts up as “great events.” Let’s look at the values of the culture—not what people say they are, but what they actually are.

Let’s learn to ask questions. What are the assets and liabilities of a technological society? What has the fast-food industry done to the tradition of a family gathering for dinner? Why do we find it difficult in our culture to have time to develop relationships? Is Western individualism beneficial or destructive? What in our culture is in harmony with the gospel and what is at odds with it? One of the most important functions of Christian prophets in our day is the ability to perceive the consequences of various forces in our culture and make value judgments upon them.

Looking at the “great events” of American culture (Super Bowl, award shows, etc) and what it says about our values is depressing to me. Our almost complete obsession with celebrity, sports and entertainment speaks volumes about our values. The fact that at any major university the football and basketball coaches make at least 4x what the president makes (and maybe 10-20x what a professor makes) speaks loudly about what we value in this country. But what really worries me is how the church and most people who consider themselves followers of Christ are as obsessed with sports and entertainment as the pagans are.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy sports, movies or other forms of entertainment- I do. They play an important role in society. But when a culture elevates sports and entertainment to the level it has in America, I believe that culture is in danger. When Christians buy into that level of idol worship, I believe that the church is in danger.

There are of course, many things in our culture that are not in harmony with the gospel but it is really dangerous when the values of the church are not in harmony with the teachings of Jesus. Jesus’ last instructions were to “go and make disciples” and to teach them to observe all that He commanded- not entertain them in the hope that they will “accept” Him. I believe in excellence in all that we do in the church because God is worthy of our best efforts- not because we need to compete with the world. The church will never be able to compete with Dubai World and if we try, we waste valuable time and resources.

So I wonder where the modern day prophets are who “perceive the consequences of various forces in our culture and make value judgments upon them”?

So, I am reading through the Bible in chronological (historical) order since I have never read it that way, and I’ve been struck anew by how bizarre some of this stuff is. Today I read this and all I could think was “wow, that’s really bizarre”- God setting up the 12 tribes of Israel Jerry Springer style.

In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. Gen 30:14-17

If you want to read through the Bible in a year in chronological order, here is a good link- If you read 2 per day you will be caught up pretty quick. http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/chronological/?date=2010-01-01

I really can’t add much to this quote from AW Tozer, but I just wanted to post it as a reminder to everyone of how subtle sin can be- especially if we have grown up in a culture that not only accepts but also condones it. In America and I’m sure around the world, our lust for continuous amusement and entertainment needs to be added to Tozer’s list.

A great preacher, now deceased, to whom I used often to listen with profit and delight, would sometimes shout dramatically, “God never classifies sin.”

His words were intended as a protest against a careless attitude toward certain forms of sin, and in their context I agree with them. Nevertheless God does classify sin and so does the law of the land, and so does the conscience of every man.

As various serpents differ from each other in their power to kill, so various sins carry different kinds of venom, all bad, but not all equally bad, their power to injure depending upon the high or low concentration of iniquity they carry in them.

Within the precincts of religion are sometimes found certain sins which I want here to mention. These may be classified under three heads: Sins committed out of weakness, respectable sins more or less allowed by everyone, and sins that have been woven into the religious fabric until they have become a necessary part of it.

No sin is to be excused. Every sin carries its own penalty. But the sin committed on impulse or the sin committed out of weakness over the protests of the heart surely does not carry the same deadly charge as those done with brazen deliberation. From such a sin there is complete deliverance by the power of Christ; and from such there is more likely to be, since it is a grief to those who commit it.

Sins of the second category are those that exist with the sanction of or at least the connivance of the church, such as pride, vanity, self-centeredness, levity, worldliness, gluttony, the telling of “white” lies, borderline dishonesty, lack of compassion for the unfortunate, complacency, absorption in the affairs of this life, love of pleasure, the holding of grudges, stinginess, gossiping and various dirty habits not expressly forbidden by name in the Scriptures.

These sins are so common that they have been accepted as normal by the average church and are either not mentioned at all or referred to in smiling half-humor by the clergy. While not as spectacular as a roaring weekend drunk or as dramatic as a violent explosion of temper, they are in the long run more deadly than either, for they are seldom recognized as sin and are practically never repented of. They remain year after year to grieve the Spirit and sap the life of the church, while everyone continues to speak the words of the true faith and go through the motions of perfunctory godliness, not knowing that there is anything wrong.

We have been fighting problems with the web hosting company’s servers for the past 3 weeks- so sorry for the lateness of the last Advent post… The last time I was able to update was Dec 23rd so I never got the final post for the Advent series up. But here it is, finally. It is still just as true in January as it was in December!

Today, we are looking at the last 2 “O Great” antiphons in our Advent liturgy. So far we have seen Jesus called Wisdom, Adonai, Root of Jesse, Key of David and Dayspring. So here are the last 2 and they are extremely important since they not only describe Jesus in the past tense, but also now and in the future.

O King of nations, the ruler they long for, the cornerstone uniting all people: Come and save us all, whom you formed out of clay.

O Emmanuel, our King and our Lord, the anointed for the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

The Old Testament passages where these come from are:
Zechariah 9:9-10 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is 1cjust and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
1 Peter 2:4-6 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
Isaiah 7:14-16 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. “He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good,the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.
Matthew 1:18-23 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME 1IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

One of the great themes all through these passages is that Jesus is the King and ruler of the nations. This had great significance in OT times since Israel and Judah were constantly being overrun and conquered by foreign nations. Today, just as in ancient times, people tend to look at circumstances as being beyond or out of the control of God. But as you read through the OT carefully, you will see that nothing happens in the world apart from the will and direction of God. Even when Jesus was born, Herod tried to have Him killed by slaughtering all the baby boys under 2 years old. Yet Joseph was warned and escaped with Mary and Jesus to Egypt. When Jesus was older, the Jewish leaders were constantly trying to kill him but they never could- until the time was right. Jesus Himself declared that He had the right to lay down His life and He also had the right to take it up again. He is the ultimate King of the nations, and nothing happens apart from His will because he is Adonai- Lord.

A second great theme in both of these antiphons is the idea that God is not a distant god playing a cosmic game of chess. He is intimately involved in His creation and His people. He is not just King of the nations; He is Emmanuel- God with us. The King did not come and build a great palace to rule from by proxy like the Roman emperor did. He did not have a standing army that he would send to do His will while He stayed in the palace. He came as a common man to rule by changing our hearts and desires. Ultimately, He came and fought our battle for us and died in our place. The only royal robes he wore were the ones that the soldiers put on Him to mock Him and the only crown He wore was a crown of thorns. To the world, He looked like a pathetic figure. But He was in complete control all the time. When God stepped into His creation, almost no one recognized Him. So it is today. For most people, Christmas is a holiday that celebrates the gifts and prosperity of man and not the unspeakable gift of God.
John 1:14 says: And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

For those who have seen the light, Jesus is the amazing revelation of God. In Him we see the glory of God, the grace of God and the truth of God.
AW Tozer gives us some great perspective in this excerpt from “That Incredible Christian”.
It is a rare mind, I suppose, that is much concerned with the conduct of God in those distant realms that lie beyond human experience. But almost everyone has wondered how God would act if He were in our place. And we may have had moments when we felt that God could not possibly understand how hard it is for us to live right in such an evil world as this. And we may have wondered how He would act and what He would do if He were to live among us for a while. To wonder thus may be natural but it is wholly needless. We know how God would act if He were in our place–He has been in our place. It is the mystery of godliness that God was manifest in human flesh. They called His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. When Jesus walked on earth He was a man acting like God; but equally wonderful is it that He was also God acting like Himself in man and in a man. We know how God acts in heaven because we saw Him act on earth. “He that hath seen me hath seen he Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” (John 14:9). As glorious as this is, it does not end there. God is still walking in men, and wherever He walks He acts like Himself. This is not poetry but plain, hard fact capable of being tested in the laboratory of life.

The two greatest gifts that we have been given are grace and truth. Without God’s grace, we would all get what we deserve- certain judgment and certain hell. But in Christ Jesus, we are given grace and mercy. To anyone who calls out “Come and save me” there is mercy. We are saved by grace irrespective of who we are or what we have accomplished. He is the King, and compared to Him, we are all nothing.
Not only do we see the perfect picture of grace in Jesus, but we also see Him as final and ultimate truth. To know and see and comprehend truth is an astounding gift. Truth means different things to different people. Some people don’t even believe that there is such a thing as absolute and ultimate truth. But when the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to see Jesus for who He really is, you can comprehend truth in ever increasing depth. His life and His words ring true and you fall on your knees and say with Thomas “My Lord and my God”.

O Dayspring, splendor of light everlasting: Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Today we are looking at the 5^th of 7 Old Testament names for Jesus. So far we have seen Him called O Wisdom, O Adonai, O Root of Jesse, and O Key of David. In today’s antiphon, we will see Him in a way we all recognize- as the Light of the World. The passage below, from Isaiah, is a familiar one that we hear read at Christmas time. The one in Revelation is the ultimate fulfillment of the one in Isaiah. But my favorite passage is in the Gospel of John where Jesus is described as the Light of men.

John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.  In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.  The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.   There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.  He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.  There was he true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.   He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.   He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Isaiah 9:1-7 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.  The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.  You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.   For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.  For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.  For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

Revelation 22:16-17 I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

Dayspring is an antiquated word, but it literally means the first light of day or dawn. The picture of Jesus in this title is that of light coming to dissipate the darkness.

And so we see two great metaphors here- light for the works of God and darkness for the works of the devil and man. Because of the sinfulness of man and the devil, the world was plunged into darkness- and through sin, came death. It is interesting that darkness and death are usually associated with each other just as light is associated with life. This is true in the physical world as well as the spiritual context.

Without light, nothing lives or grows. Physically, we are dependent on the sun for life. Spiritually, we see the same idea- we are dependent on the Son- the light of life. But in Jesus, He is not only a spiritual metaphor, He is actually light. When God led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, He appeared to them as a pillar of fire at night. When Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John, they said He became so bright that His face shown like the sun and His clothes became as bright as light.

So in this antiphon, we see Jesus as the essence of light and life, and we also see Him as the supplier and bringer of light. In 2 Corinthians 4:6 the Apostle Paul says “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

That is why the antiphon asks “Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death”. Without God shining the light of Christ in our hearts, we would all still be sitting in darkness. We can’t shine the light into our own hearts, that is the work of God and it is a mighty work of grace. The fact that anyone ever gets saved is a miracle of eternal and infinite proportions- because given our choice, we would choose darkness where we think we can hide our sin, guilt and shame. But the great truth is that when the light of life has come into our life, our shame and guilt is removed because our sin is forgiven. The light invades the darkness and the darkness is no more.

Take some time to think of when Jesus was your Dayspring- the dawning of light and truth in your life. Praise Him for His grace and that He has shone His light in your heart.

Today we are looking at the 4th Old Testament name and title for Jesus- Key of David.

O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel, you open and no one can close, you close and no one can open: Come and rescue the prisoners who are in darkness and the shadow of death.

Keys are authority, access and power.  The one who has the keys has can do things that no one else can do. So when Jesus is described as the Key of David, we need to understand the context if we are going to see the meaning of the title.

This name for Jesus is used twice in the Bible. Once in the Old Testament and once in the New. Let’s look at the passage in Revelation where Jesus describes Himself this way, and then we will go back and see where it is prophesied in Isaiah.

Revelation 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:”

In this verse, Jesus describes Himself as the key of David. But without context, that title is almost meaningless to us. So we go to Isaiah to see the original context and discover the meaning of this-

Shebna was King Hezekiah’s chief-of-staff.  As such, he held the keys to the palace and with those keys, authority and great power.  He misused his authority by having his tomb carved where the kings were buried and to enrich himself at the king’s expense.  Shebna wanted to be king and misused his power for personal gain.  And so he was stripped of his office, and Eliakim was called to replace him.   God used this little bit of palace politics to prophesy something much greater:

Isaiah 22:19-22 “I will depose you from your office, And I will pull you down from your station.   “Then it will come about in that day, That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,  And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely about him. I will entrust him with your authority, And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open.

These very same words refer to Jesus in Revelation. He is the one who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.

The question that you are probably asking right now is “what is this key?” In one sense, Jesus is the key. But in this passage, I think the key refers to salvation. Since salvation comes through Jesus alone, He holds the key that unlocks the prison door of sin and death. Sin is the prison and it locks us in a cell of shame, anxiety, lust, greed, envy, bitterness and even impatience. The final end of all of these is death.
No matter how much we struggle against the chains and rattle the bars, we cannot break out of the prison by ourself. Only Jesus- the One who opens and no one can shut and shuts and no one can open, can unlock the chains and deliver us from sin and death.
Christ has come and entered the prison. He took on the Law’s death sentence.  He stormed the gates of hell with His death.  He opens our prison cell.  He is the key- the key that sets us free from the Law and breaks the chains of death that bind us in fear. He sets us free to live as adopted sons in His Kingdom instead of prisoners in the dungeon awaiting execution.

Just as Eliakim was given the keys to all the wealth and power of the king in Isaiah 22, Jesus has the keys to all the wealth and power in God’s Kingdom. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus says “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” He has the keys to everything- He is the key.