Monthly Archives: November 2011

Isaiah 53

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Verse 1
No majesty or beauty
He came to dwell with the lowly
Man of sorrows, despised, rejected
As one from whom men hide their faces
Despised and we esteemed Him not

Chorus 1
Oh He has come, look upon the One
Jesus, Son of God, lifted up for us

Verse 2
He bore our griefs and afflictions
Pierced for our transgressions
We like sheep have gone astray
Each of us to his own way
His punishment has brought us peace

Chorus 2
Oh He has come, look upon the One
Jesus, Son of God, lifted up for us
Oh see His love, Jesus, heaven’s light
No longer to be despised
Glorious in our eyes

Verse 3
Unto death He was stricken
Assigned a grave with the wicked
Raised to life and seated glorious
Savior King, our God victorious
Never more to die, He lives

Tag
Oh He has come
Oh see His love
creditsfrom The Gathering: Live from WorshipGod11, released 15 November 2011
Music and words by Jonathan Baird and Ryan Baird
© 2011 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)

Compassion and Prayer for the Lost

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Romans 9 – Paul’s answer as to why most of Israel failed to recognize the Messiah (a huge issue) is that there is “an ‘Israel’ within ethnic Israel” and these, the true Israel, in fact did recognize Messiah. God’s word has not failed in any way at all. (Romans 9: 6)

What follows verse 6 is Paul’s explanation as to why this has ALWAYS been the case – using examples from Israel’s own history. Isaac was chosen, not Ishmael; Jacob was chosen, not Esau.. etc.

God’s choice stands and for this to be the case, it is not based on human works of any kind (foreseen or otherwise). Election is unconditional. God has freedom to have mercy on whom He will. That’s what Romans 9 is all about.

In Romans 10 Paul begins by speaking of Israel’s (unregenerate Israel) present standing with God.

v. 1 Brothers,my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

(1) Paul sincerely desires and prays for Israel’s salvation

An obvious question that arises from this statement is – If God has chosen only some, and this is fixed from all eternity …

(see also Rev 13:8 “and all who dwell on earth will worship it (the beast), everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain”, contrasted with Luke 10:20; Eph 1:4; Phil 4:3),

… why even pray?

Answer: Because God has His ENDS (His elect coming to faith in Christ) and achieves it through the use of MEANS, the prayers of the saints and preaching of the Gospel. God has predestined both those who will be His, and predestined that they come in through hearing and believing the Gospel. There is no contradiction whatsoever between election and evangelism/prayer for the unsaved.

(2) Israel possesses zeal without knowledge (accurate information).

But this lack of knowledge is not merely an innocent ignorance. It is willful, as it stems from them “seeking to establish their own righteousness” before God. In other words, they wish for righteousness before God in defiance of God’s revelation concerning how to achieve it. The reason they don’t believe is that they are trying to earn salvation by their own works, and being proud of their efforts, they refuse to receive salvation as a gift.

Lets remember though that verses 1 and 2 flow from the end of chapter 9 – instead of writing all of Israel off, Paul reveals both his sincere desire for them and his earnest prayer for them.

Prayer is always worthwhile. God’s secret counsel is not known to us (that is why it is secret) and so we can be encouraged by the fact that because something is laid on our heart, behind even this desire, is the God who planted that desire there, who waits to use it as a means to His end. More than that – We don’t know the mind of God in regard to the salvation of sinners, therefore, we should always pray for them..

“when we pray, God answers our prayers and saves those for whom He moves us to pray … God always ordains the means to some goal as well as the ends. So if He has ordained to save a certain individual through our prayers, it is as necessary that we pray for that individual as it is that the individual be saved. Indeed we must pray, since the individual will not be saved apart from the ordained intercession. This should encourage us to pray.

George Muller of Bristol, England, the founder of the great faith orphanages, was a man of outstanding prayer. In his youth he had two friends for whom he began to pray. He kept notes on his prayers, and his notes show that he prayed for them for more than sixty years. One of these men was converted just before Muller’s death at one of the last services Muller held. The other became a Christian within a year of Muller’s funeral. Toward the end of his life, but before his friends’ conversions, someone asked Muller why he was still praying for them after such a long time, since they had shown no response. He answered, “Do you think God would have kept me praying all these years if he did not intend to save them?” It was a point Paul would easily have understood.” (James Montgomery Boice; Romans Commentary, Volume 3, page 1152)

The Doctrines of Grace

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Dr. Arturo G. Azurdia III is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Director of Pastoral Mentoring at Western Seminary in Portland , Oregon. He recently established a new church plant in Portland, Oregon which is called Trinity Church, where he is Senior Minister of Word and Worship.

So Great A Salvation

The following is a series of lectures/sermons on the doctrines of grace (AKA The five points of Calvinism) which Dr. Azurdia recently completed in his Wednesday evening chapel meetings.

To download MP3, click link and save to your hard drive.

The Human Dilemma
What a piece of work is a man, created in God’s image but marred with sin through and through. Sin has spread to every member of the human race, infected every facet of your humanity, and rendered you unable to respond to God in a positive fashion. The salvation of any human being is the consequence of the grace of God. Since you can’t and won’t seek God, He must come seeking you.

God’s Sovereign Choosing
On what basis does God choose people for salvation? Ultimately, salvation is of the Lord. The Scriptures teach that God chooses us on the basis of His sovereign will, which is a cause for praise according to Jesus. The Father chose us in Jesus before the foundation of the world according to the purpose of His will to the praise of His grace.

The Intentional Atonement Of Jesus Christ
What did Jesus mean when He said, “It is finished?” How do you limit the atonement? You either have an atonement of ultimate value or one of universal extension. Any honest reading of the Bible will not let you limit the significance of what was actually accomplished at the cross. For efficacy is tied to particularity, not to potentiality.

The Grace That Overcomes
Why do some people respond positively to the gospel while others persistently refuse it? Maybe a better question is why does anybody ever respond to the gospel. The answer is overcoming grace.

Perseverance And Preservation
Is it possible for a genuine Christian to forfeit God’s gift of salvation? This is certainly a question frequently asked because most Christians have known someone who once seemed zealous for Jesus, but later abandoned the faith. The Bible teaches that true believers must and will persevere because God preserves them in the faith.

So Great A Salvation Series Q & A
Questions and Answers on this series with Pastor Art Azurdia.

So Great A Salvation Series Q & A (Part 2)
Part two of Questions and Answers on this series with Pastor Art Azurdia.

Behold, The Power of Words!

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This is a powerful video showing the power of words. The lady did not give the blind man money. She gave him much more than that. She changed the entire outcome of his day by giving him a new set of words.

As Christians we have been given the most amazing and thrilling news to share with people, the good news of the Gospel. God has done something startling, in the Person and work of His Son – His life, death and resurrection. It is the Holy Spirit who opens the heart and gives sight to the blind so that people might see the beauty of Christ, yet He uses means to do so – the preaching of the gospel. It is a sin to make this dazzling news boring by the words we use. A boring sermon is a great sin!

There might be a thousand other applications for each of us. Think about it, and make your own.

The Story of the Bible

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Steve Weaver is the pastor of Farmdale Baptist Church in Frankfort, KY. He is married to Gretta and they have been blessed by God with six children.

Some years ago, I read a series of six short articles Steve wrote (based on six sermons he preached) covering the big picture of what the Bible is all about. I thoroughly enjoyed Steve’s insights. Seeing the grand sweep of things is immensely helpful in allowing us to see where each of the details fit in the grand design. God has a plan and He will bring it about in the events of time. History is His story.

I recently read Pastor Steve’s series again and thought it would be very profitable to post at least some of it here. Here are the first two short posts:

Pastor Steve Weaver: The Story of the Bible – Part 1

Everyone loves a good story! There is something about the words, “Once upon a time . . .” that capture the attention and the imagination of both young and old. We never outgrow our love for a story. This is clearly evident by American’s seemingly insatiable appetite for books, television and movies.

The Bible is often treated as merely a collection of many different stories with a moral lesson, a Christian version of Aesop’s Fables. While it is true that the Bible does contain many different stories and that most of them have a moral lesson, the Bible is much more than what it is often treated as. The Bible is one story, with one overarching message. That story is the most compelling one ever written. It is quite literally, “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” I like to summarize the message of the Bible this way: “The Bible is the story of a God who makes a spectacular promise about a supernatural Person who creates a special people to live in a supernal place with Him forever.” In my next five posts, I will be taking one of the main nouns from this sentence and showing how that theme is played out through the entire Bible.

Before we begin I must confess my indebtedness in my formulation of the above sentence to the works of the Australian Biblical theologian Graeme Goldsworthy who has very helpfully defined the kingdom of God as: “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.” I am also deeply indebted to Paul Helm’s children’s book titled The Big Picture Story Bible (one of my favorite books to help me understand and explain the Bible to my children) which describes the Bible as: “A big book, about a big God, who keeps a big promise.”

All good stories, we are told, must have characters, a plot, a setting, a conflict and a unifying theme. Well, the story of the Bible has it all!

For characters, this story has God, the Devil, and a cast of thousands.

For a plot, this story has the ebb and flow of the history of the nation Israel, and even the whole history of the world serves as a stage for the action in this cosmic drama of redemption.

For a setting, this story has the entirety of planet earth with heaven and hell in the balance.

For a conflict, this story has Satan in rebellion against God and God’s active work to destroy him forever. Relatedly, this story also has humanity in rebellion against God and God’s active work to redeem a people out of fallen humanity for Himself.

For a unifying theme, this story is the story about a God who makes a spectacular promise about a supernatural Person who creates a special people to live in a supernal place with Him forever.

Part 2

Parents know that children who are raised in church give the same answer when asked virtually any question about the Bible: God. Although this predictable answer is sometimes humorous, the answer is given for good reason. Children learn early on that God is the right answer to so many questions. Who made the world? God. Who made the trees? God. Who made the sun? God. Who made the stars? God. Who made you? God!

Somehow as we grow older we forget this simple answer and begin to substitute more complicated answers for everything. The purpose of this second article is that children and adults alike would answer the question: “What is the Bible about?” with the simple answer: “God!”

This post is the second in a series of six that seeks to develop the following summarizing sentence about the Bible: “The Bible is the story of a God who makes a spectacular promise about a supernatural person who creates a special people to live in a supernal place with Him forever.”

As early as the first four words of the Bible, “In the beginning God,” we can tell that the main subject of the Bible is God Himself. God is both the author of Scripture and its subject. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. While God’s power and glory are evident in the created order, the fullest revelation of the character of God is found in Scripture. It is in the pages of sacred Scripture alone that the nature of God are both cogently described and clearly displayed.

Without Scripture we could not know God. God is infinite (unlimited), we are finite (limited). Therefore, if human beings were ever to know anything about God, God had to reveal Himself. Thankfully, this is exactly what He has done. As Hebrews 1:1-2 states,

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (ESV)

These verses show us that God has revealed Himself in the pages of the Old Testament through the prophets and in the pages of the New Testament most fully in the person of Christ. God has revealed Himself in Scripture by both definition and demonstration. First, the attributes of God are defined. God is said to be holy (Isaiah 6:3), righteous (Romans 3:25-26), light (1 John 1:5), love (1 John 4:8), merciful (Exodus 33:19), and a spirit (John 4:24).

The attributes of God are also displayed for us in the various stories of Scripture (the subplots that support that major plot). For example, the story of creation shows God’s power, glory and intelligence. The story of the flood shows God’s judgment while at the same time highlighting His mercy. The story of Abraham shows God’s grace in choosing a people for Himself. The story of Joseph shows God’s faithfulness to His people. The story of Moses shows that God is faithful to His Word. The life of Jesus shows the glory of God on display for 30 plus years. The death of Jesus shows at once the wisdom, justice, holiness, wrath, righteousness, love, mercy, and grace of God. As John Piper has so eloquently stated about the cross, “The wisdom of God has ordained a way for the love of God to deliver us from the wrath of God without compromising the righteousness of God.”

In short, the Bible is a story about God!!!

Friday Round Up

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(1) Justin Taylor interviewed Stephen Wellum, professor of Christian Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY) on the long standing issues of credo baptism (baptism made upon a profession of faith), the covenant of grace and infant baptism. The result was an interchange that is probably a lot more technical and theological for many people’s tastes but I am sure some of my readers will enjoy the insights found here.

(2) I love these two quotes concerning union with Christ:

Martin Luther: “By faith you are so cemented to Christ that He and you are as one person, which cannot be separated but remains attached to Him forever. Look now at what grace, life, peace, and righteousness is in me; it is His, and yet it is mine also, by that inseparable union which is through faith, by which Christ and I are made as it were one body in spirit.”

John Murray: “Union with Christ has its source in the election of God the Father before the foundation of the world and has its fruition in the glorification of the sons of God. The perspective of God’s people is not confined to space and time; it has the expanse of eternity. This union has two sides: one the electing love of God the Father in the counsels of eternity and the other glorification with Christ in the manifestation of His glory. The former has no beginning, the latter has no end. Why can the believer have patience in the adversities of this present time? Why can he have confident assurance with reference to the future and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God? It is because he cannot think of past, present, or future apart from union with Christ.”

(3) Even a broken clock is right twice every day! Even the person who does not know God is made in the image of God and with that, has insights that can be very helpful to us all concerning many aspects of life. I have found that if I have the attitude “everyone can teach me something” its amazing what I find I can learn each day, often from very surprising sources.

(4) Once again, Ligonier has some SUPER deals today in this week’s $5 Friday sale. The online sale starts at 8 a.m. EST and goes on for 24 hours or until items are sold out. Check out the $5 Ligonier sale here.

By the way, remember that for any purchase at Ligonier, click on the green Ligonier Ministries image to the right and when placing an order, use the code “EGRACE10” and it will give you a 10% discount as a reader of this blog.

(5) You will notice a couple of posts here on the blog this week that deal with defending the historical authorship of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) as well as Dr. Daniel Wallace’s two lectures on “Is What We Have Now What They Wrote Then?” I would encourage everyone to take a look at them (if you have not already done so). The attacks against the Christian faith in our day from men like Bart Ehrman have gone mainstream, and there’s no doubt our Christian young people need to be equipped with answers to the questions they will be confronted with in schools, Colleges and secular Universities. It is far better for them to hear solid answers concerning the textual issues of the Bible within the community of faith, than to be hit with these things for the first time in a hostile, secular environment. Its vital that our own children become aware of these issues and are armed with at least some of the answers.

Talking of Bart Ehrman, he is often quoted by Muslims when they attack the Bible. Yet here he explains why he does not criticize the Qur’an.

(6) I encourage you to check out the Reformation apparel by clicking on the Missionalwear logo to the right. There are some very cool items that have now become available for both men and women.

(7) Someone on the East Coast commented:
Wahoo! It is now 11:11:11 on 11/11/11. What an epic moment! Can you feel the exci….
Rats – it’s now 11:11:12… Excitement over. Back to work!

7 Billion: How did we get here?

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Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

The human population of the world recently passed the 7 billion mark. This short video (below) reveals how this has taken place in a visual form.

As NPR’s Adam Cole reports, it was just over two centuries ago that the global population was 1 billion — in 1804. But better medicine and improved agriculture resulted in higher life expectancy for children, dramatically increasing the world population.

Much of the growth has happened in Asia — in India and China. Those two countries have been among the world’s most populous for centuries. But a demographic shift is taking place as the countries have modernized and lowered their fertility rates. Now, the biggest growth is taking place in sub-Saharan Africa.

Due in part to that region’s extreme poverty, infant mortality rates are high and access to family planning is low. The result is high birth rates and a booming population of 900 million — a number that could triple by the end of the century. Population expert Joel Cohen points out that, in 1950, there were nearly three times as many Europeans as sub-Saharan Africans. If U.N. estimates are correct, there will be nearly five sub-Saharan Africans for every European by 2100.

As higher standards of living and better health care are reaching more parts of the world, the rates of fertility — and population growth — have started to slow down, though the population will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

U.N. forecasts suggest the world population could hit a peak of 10.1 billion by 2100 before beginning to decline. But exact numbers are hard to come by — just small variations in fertility rates could mean a population of 15 billion by the end of the century.