Mules - Ouch, but Worth Considering?

I was sent this illustration by a friend. It is originally from a collection of sermon illustrations: Pulpit Helps: Collection II

"The church today is raising a whole generation of mules. They know how to sweat and to work hard but they don't know how to reproduce themselves." It's not known who said that, but it is a statement of incredible insight. Mules are hard workers.  They have carried supplies, plowed fields, pulled wagons and transported people. The only problem is that they are almost always sterile and thus cannot reproduce. They are hard workers, but they are the end of the line. They do not produce more like themselves.

The church is full of hard workers. They teach classes, serve the physical needs of others, clean up and mow the grass, cook, move tables, organize social activities, visit and even write letters and cards, and do a host of other things. There is just one problem. They don't "reproduce." They don't teach the gospel to the lost so others can become hard workers. They are the end of the line.

The real job the Lord gave us is to go into the world and "reproduce ourselves" by making disciples of others (Matt. 28:18-20). It is a tough lesson to realize that you may have worked hard and yet still haven't gotten the job done. Let us say it plainly. If we are not evangelizing, we are not doing the job completely. If we are nothing more than a generation of mules, we are on the road to extinction.

How Much Does the Modern Church (your church) Resemble the Church Christ Established?

Below is what the church looked like right after the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. What have we retained or lost of this simple model for church? I hesitate to call it a model, because I don't think they were thinking/talking that way about it. More likely, it was how they were led by the Spirit and what made sense based on who they were in Christ. Where are the programs? Where are the committees? Where are most of the things we call church? The things I just mentioned aren't bad, but do we have time/energy left to do the main things for which the church exists?

Acts 2:40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (NKJV)

Here is a link to a related blog post: http://5solas4claytongarner.blogspot.com/2010/11/more-biblical-church-model_3968.html

Do I care enough to pray?

I seem to have far more willingness to worry about things than to pray about them. This may be typical of many or even most Christians or maybe just me, but worrying does seem to come much more naturally than prayer. I worry about how my children do in school, I worry about their relationship with God, I worry about family finances, I worry about the future of my church and I worry that my spiritual walk falls far short. The order of these worries is not necessarily how I rate their importance, but these are no doubt some of my frequent worries.

There are three questions I could ask regarding these worries. First are they important enough to warrant my concern? The answer is yes, each of these areas are important, worth caring about, and requires some action on my part.

Next, I must consider how I should best deal with these valid concerns, what actions should I take?

Surely I should hold my children accountable for doing their school work. I should praise their successes, encourage/help them in their weaknesses, and give consequences when they show deliberate unwillingness to take care of their business.

I should encourage my children in their relationship with God. I need to live out my faith in a real way so they see Christianity not hypocrisy. I should teach them the scriptures and encourage them to study for themselves. Trying to help them see life through a Biblical worldview is also beneficial and something that they may struggle to do on their own.

I need to be a good steward of my family finances. I should seek to earn a fair wage for my work and not live beyond my means. Seeing everything as God's property is very helpful for keeping the right heart when it comes to stewardship as well.

I need to participate in and love my church as God calls me to. It is easy to complain about what isn't right and worry about what will happen if things don't change, but the reality is God is much more powerful than I am. Even if I do everything as best I can, there are infinite ways for things to go wrong and the truth is I often miss the mark of even my own plans. It is especially hard to control outcomes when others are involved and we all may have different plans and outcomes in mind.

Obviously, I need to spend quality time with God if I am going to walk in a manner worthy of the calling I have as in Christ. Reading God's word and spending time in prayer are certainly the foundation of success in this area. God will show me where I need change and remind me of the great depth of His love and grace as I interact with Him through the word and prayer.

The third question I need to answer regarding these important concerns is what do I do first?

When I think about it, I know I won't have the best information if I don't spend much time in God's word. If I do spend time in God's word it will certainly remind me of His power, wisdom and willingness to act on behalf of His children. With that said, if I really care about how things will turn out my time is well spent asking the one with all power to intervene!!!

I can talk about important things, worry about important things, and even do my best to fix important things, but if I really care I should pray first and most that God would work in the important things!

Reformed Theology in Garner and Clayton NC?

What do I mean by Reformed Theology?

Primarily, I am referring to the doctrines of grace. More specifically, Reformed Theology affirms God's absolute sovereignty in the affairs of men, especially in the salvation of individuals. The heart of Reformed Theology is the belief that man has nothing to boast about when it comes to salvation, not even being a bit more smart or humble than those who did not believe upon Jesus for salvation - God will have all glory! You don't have to believe exactly the same about such things to be a Christian and many come to embrace the reformed view after growing in the faith and interacting with the scriptures over time. While the distinctives of reformed theology don't always deal with absolutly essential doctrines, all doctrines are still important and have practical implications. However, those specific implications are not the focus of this brief discussion, but rather what do you do if you hold a reformed understanding of scripture if you live where it is not a very popular view?

The teachings of the early reformers (Luther, Calvin, etc.) along with the teachings of many famous reformed preachers and authors (Johnathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, etc.) have gained popularity among many evangelical Christians lately. At the same time many believers, especially those who have come from outside a particular church tradition, have taken up studying the scriptures for themselves leading to a "Modern Reformation" of sorts as reformed doctrines are rediscovered from the Bible. With these changes taking place it must be asked - where do those who come to embrace these teachings fit into the church, especially in the Bible Belt of the US?

It is not as simple as one might think. Most current reformed churches in the southeast are Presbyterian and this has two potential problems. First - they have earned a reputation for being liberal over recent years since a large portion, known as the PCUSA, willfully and publicly rejected the authority of scripture as it related to who qualified to teach within the church and other issues. While the other major branch of Presbyterianism the PCA remains more conservative, many who have come to embrace a reformed understanding of scripture from outside Presbyterianism are not comfortable with the practice of infant baptism as it is practiced in the Presbyterian church.

There are quite a few non-Presbyterian reformed churches springing up around the country which hold to a reformed view of salvation, but practice the Biblical mandate for believers baptism. Some of these churches are operating under the name "Reformed Baptists", "Sovereign Grace Churches", any variety of other names, or are simply Baptist churches which teach from a reformed perspective. The reformed view as I have very briefly outlined here does fall within the parameters of Southern Baptist Orthodoxy and of course the Baptist church has much of it's roots in reformed theology. However, the reformed perspective on scripture is certainly in the minority today within the Baptist church and may even be considered heretical by some.

It may well be that in recent decades, as the emphasis of churches has been primarily on evangelistic preaching and sinners prayer conversions, that the teaching of the scriptures for the equipping of the saints has been neglected. This neglect would leave many churches without the spiritual maturity or scriptural depth of knowledge to even consider reformed teachings, especially since they go very much against the natural mind or what some would call "common sense".

What is the answer? Surely finding a church that teaches the whole counsel of God is the main thing. If the scriptures are taught, the Spirit will work and eventually truth will prevail, at least among God's people. Next it is clear that we will always be in a less than perfect church unless we are seeing it through the perfection of Christ, not our own perfect understanding or application of God's word. Finally, it is important to be humble and remember that we (Christians) continue to grow in our knowledge of God and his word throughout our time here and that any truth we posses is to be seen as a gift from God!!

1 Cor. 4:7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

"Departing from Scripture: The Root of Error" | History of the Modern Go...

This is the next video in the series I posted last week.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WITNESS TO SOMEONE?

Please consider the following very brief study on "being a witness". Some scriptures are partial quotes, so look them up in entirety to see full context - all are from the NKJV.

John the baptist was sent to "...bear witness of the light..." (John 1:7). Jesus said "you have sent to John and he has born witness to the truth" (John 5:33). Both of these verses have witnessing to the identity of Jesus in view. Jesus also said "I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness of Me." (John 8:18). Jesus said to Pilate: "I have come into the world that I should bear witness of the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." (John 18:37).

Jesus command to His followers after His resurrection and right before ascending into heaven is: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8). We see Peter carrying out this call to witness as he told Cornelius: "We are witnesses of all things which He did...." (Acts 10:39).

Even these few verses on what the scripture means by "being a witness", raise a serious question. What is the goal of our witnessing? If our goal is to get people to respond  "get saved", our witness may be driven by what we think they might respond to, what they might be offended by or many other factors as we "witness to them." If my desire is to witness to the truth/Christ, who He is and what He as done, my concern will be for accuracy of the message and glorification of the subject - Jesus Christ!

Witnessing accurately to the person and work of Jesus Christ is always a success as it is an act of obedience to His word and declares His glory to the world. It is through the accurate proclamation of the word that the Spirit brings people to salvation (see Acts 10:43-44). Diminishing the message and the subject of the message (Christ) to try to win the person is always a failure on all fronts!

History of the Modern Gospel Intro Video

This video series questions the Biblical roots of some modern evangelistic methods. You may not agree with everything taught, but it may be worth listening to it and comparing it to what is said to God's word?

Monergism or Synergism?

The links below have some helpful information on how salvation comes to those who are spiritually dead and at enmity with God.

Monergism vs. Synergism

Chart comparing Monergism and Synergism

When Moral Absolutes are Removed

Within just five minutes this morning I saw two great (or terrible depending on perspective), examples of a world living without regard for God's moral absolutes. First I read a story on Alpha and Omega Ministries website about a case in England where a couple who would not affirm homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle were denied the right to be foster parents. It is assumed this ruling will be used for those who wish to adopt as well.

Link to the original article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/8353496/Foster-parent-ban-no-place-in-the-law-for-Christianity-High-Court-rules.html

Next, as I was finishing reading that article a TV commercial came on during the morning news I had playing in the background. I can't quote it verbatim, but essentially it said - If you have "bad debt" and you can't pay it off, don't worry about it. Making it go away is like magic with the new bankruptcy laws. "Abra Cadabra" and your debt is gone. But that is not the best (or worst part) if you use their law firm they can make your creditors pay for your bankruptcy!

What is surprising about these things is not that people are doing them, but that the general climate of the world and even our country is silent to there absolute absurdity in regard to God's moral law. In scripture this is seen as the lowest depths of the outward expression of our falleness.

Rom. 1:32 who, knowing the righteous judgements of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (NKJV)

Lord have mercy on us!