Holiness

Having talked about pursuing holiness in the last two sermons on Sunday morning to some degree or another, here is a helpful post that lists several motivations for that pursuit based upon a study of 2 Peter:

Motivations for Pursuing Holiness

Enjoy reading today as the turkey slowly fades away...hopefully.

Blessings!

A Genuine Ministry

First, it is important to understand that every Christian is a "minister". What is different is the "role" in ministry that one plays. The unhealthy degree to which "clergy" has been distinguished from "laity" over the years, I believe, is an unintended by-product of not teaching fully what the scriptures regard as a "calling" for every Christians to be a "minister."

With that being said, during my personal bible study this morning, drawing from 2 Corinthians 6, Henry Blackaby gave a list of several marks of a mature minister's profile.

Here they are:
- patient with others and with the unfolding of the plan of God
- willing to endure tribulations, and times of intense needs or stress
- faithful even if publicly punished or imprisoned
- calm in times of intense conflict
- willing to work hard and put in long hours
- engaging frequently in fasting and prayer
- a life of purity
- studying God's word diligently
- bearing with "difficult others" and showing kindness to them
- led by the Holy Spirit
- expressing sincere love
- giving to others the truth of God in the power of God
- a righteous life
- steady even if ridiculed or overlooked
- steady even if given great honor or recognition
- countering all lies with an exemplary life
- knowing that God sees all and is the final judge of all
- having assurance of "riches in glory" and authority in Christ Jesus
- having confidence of God's love and eternal life regardless of persecutions

As I reflected upon these statements, several questions came to mind:
1. In what areas do I need to grow?
2. In what areas does God want to stretch me?
3. How can I cultivate an attitude of "life-long learning & growing" as a disciple toward spiritual maturity?
4. How can I know that I am growing toward spiritual maturity?

It is my prayer that this "profile" and these questions will be helpful in evaluating our spiritual progress for the Lord.

What are we laboring for?

John 6:27 says, “Do not labor for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give to you. For on him the Father has his seal.”

Then, in my personal bible study of John’s gospel, Henry Blackaby wrote the following. I’m reproducing it in its entirety for our edification. Read slowly and take it all in. Then, spend some time in John 6 for meditation and reflection on the depth of what Jesus is saying to us and the application that Blackaby makes to our daily lives.

“The sign in the restaurant said in large letters, ‘we serve slow food, not fast food.’ In smaller type were these words: ‘We spend hours preparing our meats by a slow-cook method. We take hours to chop up the freshest ingredients to make our salads every day. We bake our own bread and make our own desserts. We have only three employees to take your order, put together, your order in the kitchen, and serve you. If you have the time, we’ll provide for you a great meal. If you don’t have the time, come back. We’re worth waiting for. But no, we can’t ‘hurry it up’ on demand.’ The restaurant does a steady business, but it will never become a franchised chain or serve hundreds of people a day. It is too slow to jockey for position in life’s fast lane. We live in a world that demands immediate gratification at every turn! We want fast food, even though we prefer the taste of slow food. We seem irresistibly drawn as a culture to purchase lottery tickets and pursue get-rich-quick schemes. We admire and desire overnight success. We want to earn academic degrees in less and less time, regardless of what is or isn’t learned. We want to get something right the first time we try it. We want to fall in love at first sight and if things don’t work out, get a quick divorce at a low cost. We want wars to end forty-eight hours after they are started, crimes to be resolved in real life at the pace of a prime-time television show, and to have at age twenty all it took our parents or grandparents a lifetime to acquire. What about our spiritual life? How long should it take for a person to become spiritually mature? How long should it take for God to answer your prayer? How long should a preacher preach or a teacher teach? How long should a church service last? How long is long enough to spend reading your bible? How long is long enough to pray?”

What are we laboring for?

The Reformation and the Ordinances

Happy Reformation Day! It was October 31, 1517 when the monk Martin Luther nailed his now-famous 95 Theses to the door of Wittenburg. Martin Luther desired to reform the church, but historians tell us that he wanted to do it from the inside. He did not desire to divide the church into various groups. He wanted to begin a conversation about many of the things that were happening in the church he believed were not in keeping with the scriptures.

Well, the conversation started and the reformation began. And, now we stand as “protestants”, spiritual descendents of the reformation some 500 years later. Out of the “protestant reformation”, a variety of protestant denominations came into existence. There are Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and others.

Some of the most heated debates among the founders and early leaders of what we now call “denominations” were over baptism, the Lord’s Supper, church governance, and the relationship between the church and the state (government).

We began our journey talking about some of these subjects this past Wednesday night as we began to discuss baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This coming Wednesday, we are planning to explore the subject of baptism. 

Over the next several weeks, we are planning to answer questions such as:

·         Why do we not baptize infants?

·         Why do we believe in believers’ baptism and baptism by immersion?

·         What are the differences between Baptists and other denominations with respect to baptism?

·         Are our differences valid reasons for not “fellowshipping” with other denominations?

As we learn about our spiritual heritage, particularly about two of our Baptist contributions to the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, I hope that you will consider joining us each Wednesday as we study these very important subjects.

I hope that these discussions and studies will prompt us and motivate us to study our bibles so that we might be able to know better what we believe and why we believe it.

Happy Reformation Day!

Transformation in Discipleship

At the heart of discipleship is “transformation”, the transformation of the believer into the “image of Christ” (Romans 8:29). In fact, that is our aim in everything that we do: to see people surrender to Jesus as Lord and be consistently transformed into His likeness.

The context of that transformation is the local church, the body of Christ, the community of believers who have committed themselves together as an identifiable group of believers for the purpose of mutual edification and mission in their community and beyond.

I want to share a few quotes this week from a friend of mine to help us think about the God-given means of “transformation” that are available to us in the context of the local church and her ministries. Here are three of them:

“Transformation takes place when a surrendered disciple understands the role of the Holy Spirit and lives daily with a fresh awareness of his power and presence, and regularly engages wholeheartedly in meaningful, God-focused worship experiences.”

“Transformation takes place as a surrendered disciple nurtures his relationship with God by consistently growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, increasingly reflecting His attitudes, behaviors and character in every aspect of life.”

“Transformation takes place when a surrendered disciple pursues the daily spiritual disciplines of personal prayer, Bible study, and reflection; recognizes every resource comes from God and is to be used generously for Kingdom priorities and purposes; practices God-honoring servanthood and develops personal life management skill within the context of a safe and affirming group of like-minded believers who are accountable to one another.”

Now, I would like to ask us a question: are we availing ourselves to these God-given means of grace for our transformation in a consistent manner?

These are some very thought-provoking statements, aren’t they? They help us to think through and process the “transformation” that is happening in our lives, or the lack of it. Transformation doesn’t just automatically happen. Certainly, it is by grace through faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives believers the desire for transformation and draws believers to those means of biblical transformation.