Does God Still Speak Through Dreams and Visions? Part One

The Sunday after Easter I began preaching through the book of Acts. This past Sunday marked my seventh straight Sunday in this New Testament book. My text was Acts 2:14-41, Peter's sermon at Pentecost. How ironic that I preached through Peter's sermon at Pentecost on Pentecost Sunday!

Because I covered the whole text in a single sermon, I wasn't able to get into much detail. But something happened after the service that provided a perfect lead-in for this article. A lady approached me after the service and asked to speak with me. We sat down on the first pew, and she told me with tears in her eyes that she had received Christ as her Lord and Savior two days earlier in her kitchen. She had been coming to church with a friend and had come to understand the gospel.

This dear lady proceeded to tell me that the day before she received Christ, she had a dream, and I was in it! She dreamt that we were sitting down on a bench talking about God and the gospel. Now here we were on a pew talking about God and the gospel!

She didn't know what to make of this dream. Quite frankly, I didn't either! Less than an hour before our talk, I had read Peter's quotation of Joel's prophecy:
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,    and your young men shall see visions,    and your old men shall dream dreams....
- Acts 2:14-17; cf. Joel 2:28 
Due to time constraints, I didn't really address this whole matter of dreams and visions. But perhaps now is as good a time as any! Actually, I thought through this whole matter rather carefully a few years ago. I'd like to spend the next few posts sharing my thoughts on the subject. Though I will be presenting this subject in a more technical and academic manner than I do in a typical blog post, I can assure you that I am a simple man and have written this piece with the average reader in mind.


The Issue

Since creation, God has revealed Himself to people in a number of ways.  These have been classified traditionally under two main categories: general revelation and special revelation.  General revelation consists of the witness of creation and conscience.  Special revelation is more specific in nature and, according to Scripture, has consisted of personal encounters with God, mighty acts by God, propositional revelation (i.e., revelation in the form human language), and incarnation (which is really a culmination of the other three types of special revelation).[1]

Traditionally, evangelical Christians have affirmed that which Scripture declares: during the Old and New Testament periods, God on many occasions revealed Himself to people through visions and dreams.[2]  The question that creates controversy is not, “Has God spoken in times past through dreams and visions?” but “Does God still reveal Himself in this manner?”  Since the completion of the canon, does God still communicate through visions and dreams?

                                                                      Positions
The three main positions taken on this particular issue are what I have designated the closed cessationist view, the open continuationist view, and the open cessationist view.[3]

The Closed Cessationist View 
Those who espouse this view believe that God no longer communicates through dreams and visions, now that the canon of Scripture is complete.  This view is summed up well by Richard Gaffin, who sees any “sense of the Spirit’s illumination for today of already revealed truth” that goes beyond “thoughtful reflection and prayerful wrestling prompted by the Spirit, about contemporary circumstances and problems in light of Scripture” as a stance which “unavoidably implies a certain insufficiency in Scripture that needs to be compensated for.” [4]  Closed cessationists equate dreams and other subjective means of spiritual guidance[5] with “extrabiblical ‘prophecies’” and therefore unbiblical - even dangerous.[6]
The Open Continuationist View
Proponents of this view believe that God still communicates today through dreams and visions, so long as such subjective impressions are evaluated in light of Scripture.  A strong and well-known advocate of this view is theologian Wayne Grudem, who associates dreams and visions with the New Testament gift of prophecy. Grudem defines the prophetic gift loosely as “something that God may suddenly bring to mind, or something that God may impress on someone’s consciousness in such a way that the person has a sense that it is from God.”  Grudem goes on to point out that “there may be not only words or ideas that come to mind, but also mental pictures (or ‘visions,’ Acts 2:17) and dreams (Acts 2:17) as well.”[7]  However, because such mental images or impressions are highly subjective, and “our own thoughts or ideas can get mixed into the message we receive,”[8] prophecy can be impure and inaccurate.  It must never be tantamount to Scripture but rather tested in light of Scripture (1 Thes. 5:19-21).  But when the gift of prophecy is correctly exercised and regulated, it is a wonderful means of edification to the church and a sign of God’s blessing upon the church.
Indeed, one continuationist, citing the fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy through Joel (2:28) and its fulfillment in Acts 2 (esp. v. 17), states that visions and dreams are the ongoing “visual proof” that God has poured out His Spirit on all flesh, and that Moses’ wish that “all the Lord’s people were prophets” (Num. 11:29) has come to fulfillment.  Thus “dreams and visions are assigned a place of honor among the various ways in which God makes his will known to believers”[9] as part of the ongoing gift of New Testament prophecy.

The Open Cessationist View
This position allows for the occurrence of dreams and visions as a means of divine guidance for today, while affirming the cessation of all the New Testament revelatory gifts, such as prophecy, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.  Key proponents of this view would be contemporary theologian Sinclair Ferguson and seventeenth-century theologian John Owen.[10]   Both argue that while some special gifts in the apostolic era are no longer given to the church, some continuing operations of the Spirit are analogous to them.[11]  Says Ferguson,
No right-thinking Christian would deny that God continues to be active in the world, to do wonderful things for his people, and especially to answer their prayers in keeping with his promises . . . .  It would, however, be a mistake to draw the conclusion from this that such events are normative or that in these events individuals are receiving again the coronation gifts of Pentecost.[12]
While the open cessationist would affirm the reality of divine revelation through the avenues of dreams and visions, he would argue that such events are not normative, and that they fall into the category of illumination (i.e. understanding and applying the truth of Scripture).

What are we to make of these three positions? Which one is right? Is there a fourth option? How are dreams and visions best interpreted in light of Scripture? I'll give you my take on this issue in part two of this article, to be posted within a week. In the meantime, think through the issue yourself, using Scripture as your guide. Ask the Holy Spirit to grant you insight regarding this matter. As Stephen Olford used to say,

Where human investigation fails, spiritual illumination prevails.


[1] This is a brief summary of notes on “Forms of Revelation” given by Dr. Bruce Ware in Systematic Theology 1 at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the summer of 2010.
[2] These are similar phenomena, with a vision occurring while a person is awake, and a dream occurring while one is asleep.  (This differentiation may be a bit simplistic, but it is a helpful one nonetheless.)
[3] These are my own designations concerning the primary views regarding dreams and visions.  I am unaware of these designations being used elsewhere.  I have not come across them in my own readings on this subject.
[4] Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.  Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?  Four Views,  ed. Wayne A. Grudem (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 52.  
[5] Such would include “inner promptings, signs, feelings of peace or uneasiness, strong impressions on the mind, or other similar means.”  John MacArthur, Reckless Faith  (Wheaton, IL:  Crossway Books, 1994): 182.  It should be noted that Richard Gaffin would not take quite as stringent a view as MacArthur, for Gaffin does say, “The Spirit may and ought to be at work in the feelings, intuitions, or hunches that believers have about specific decisions and particular courses of action” (Gaffin, 155).  Nevertheless, Gaffin goes on to indicate his concern regarding “(Spirit-prompted) impulses of a revelatory character,” which others (namely, Robert Saucy, to whom Gaffin is referring) see as “new covenant guidance” not related to miraculous gifts (p. 143). 
[6] Ibid.  See also Gaffin, 53.
[7] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994): 1056.
[8] Ibid, 1055.
[9] George Mallone, Those Controversial Spiritual Gifts (Downers Grove, IL:  InterVarsity Press, 1983):  54.
[10] Though neither of these men use the designation “open cessationist,” their writings indicate that they affirm(ed)  this view as I have described it.
[11] Sinclair Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press, 1996): 233.  Ferguson cites John Owen, “A Discourse of Spiritual Gifts” in The Works of John Owen, ed. W.H. Goold (Edinburgh: Johnstone & Hunter, 1850-53), vol. 4, p. 475; cf. p. 454.
[12] Ibid, 234-235.

Are We a Welcoming Church?

In recent months our church has made strides toward making our guests feel more welcome. We formulated a Welcome Team and have worked hard to define our mission and to minister accordingly. 

 I love our Welcome Team's missions statement: 
"Extending the love of Christ through genuine hospitality."

 That's true incarnational ministry, isn't it?  The changes in the physical lay-out of our church lobby has helped to create a more welcoming atmosphere, but people are the primary catalysts for change.

 Recently I came across a helpful article entitled Do Visitors Feel Welcome at Your Church? 5 Practical Tools You Need.  You can read the original article by clicking here. Otherwise, read the following excerpt:


I often wonder why we aren’t more intentional, or why we spend so little time training volunteer greeters. The art of making others feel welcome is about more than getting a few people to volunteer to hand out bulletins each Sunday.

First impressions are not just important; they are crucial. Especially when it comes to first-time visitors. One Christian author writes that a person decides within the first three to eight minutes whether they will return.

How can we make the people in our church feel welcome?

1. Avoid questions like, “Are you new?” or “Is this your first Sunday?” 

If you are not new, then things get rather awkward. If you are new, you probably don’t want to feel like the spotlight is on you or that you stick out like a sore thumb. Instead, say, “Hi! I don’t believe I’ve met you yet. My name is ________.”

2. If you find out that someone you are talking to is new (which will usually reveal itself early in the conversation), personally escort them and their children to each class. 

Don’t just tell them where to go; show them.

3. If at all possible, introduce new people to others. 

For example, if you are showing a new child to a classroom, introduce him or her to another child you know in the classroom. You might say, “I’d like you to meet my special friend Elizabeth. She is in your class this hour and _________.”

4. Make an intentional effort to remember people’s names. 

Some of us come by this easier than others, but for those of who struggle there are techniques to improve our recall. For example, say someone’s name several times in the course of your first conversation. The more times you say a name the more likely you are to remember it. (For more tips see: How to Remember a Person’s Name or Seven Ways to Remember Any Name).

5. As visitors are leaving, make sure to smile and thank them for coming. 

You might ask them how they enjoyed the service, or go the extra mile and ask them to join you for lunch. My parents visited a church while on vacation and raved for weeks about how they were taken out to lunch after the service by one of the elders.

Developing relationships isn’t always easy, but it is worth it!

Do you have any other insights or recommendations you would like to share? If so, leave a comment. We'd love to get your thoughts.

On Second Thought

Recently I made a decision that I regretted almost immediately. I can't share the details for the sake of confidentiality, but suffice to say, I spoke before I thought. I committed to doing something that compromised my conscience, and I felt uneasy about it.

I couldn't get the matter off my mind throughout the evening, and made it a matter of prayer. The next morning in my regular devotional reading, I came across the following verse:
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
- Hebrews 13:18
My heart's desire was to honor God in all things -- and it is for this very reason that I did not have a clear conscience regarding my current situation.

So I dealt with it. 

I did what I had to do. But it resulted in some folks being disappointed. In a very real sense I was disappointed too.

But there's a difference between feeling bad and feeling guilty. Better to be sad emotionally than to sin intentionally.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
- James 4:17
Sometimes our mouth gets us into trouble. We speak before we think. We get ourselves into a fix that violates our conscience. When we get into that sort of situation, we need to get out of it asap. Scripture provides a good example of this in the case of finances:
My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—2 if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said—3 follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased.4  Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.
- Proverbs 6:1-4 NLT
How easy it is to get ourselves in a bind! We put ourselves in a predicament that is either blatantly sinful or blurs the line between right and wrong! Whenever that happens, we should repent and do what is right. Isn't this what Jesus taught?
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted? “The first,” they answered.
- Matthew 21:28-31
Jesus assured them that they had answered correctly. Then he went on to confront them about their failure to change their minds even after they saw the truth.
Don't make the same mistake.
Of course it's better not to get yourself into such a predicament in the first place. My own recent experience taught me a good lesson in that regard. But I'm so glad that my conscience is now clear.
Is yours?

Food for the Inner Man - George Mueller


During last Sunday's sermon I emphasized how Scripture informs and adds substance to our prayers. To illustrate this point, I shared the example of the 19th century minister George Mueller, who cared 
for 10,000 orphans over his lifetime.  He also established 117 schools that offered Christian education to over 120,000 children, many of whom were orphans.  

How was Mueller able to do so much good for so many people?  Through prayer.  But George Mueller never prayed for a thing just because he wanted it, or even because he felt it was greatly needed for God’s work.  Whenever he was inclined to pray for something, he would search Scripture to see if there was a promise connected to that kind of situation.  Sometimes he would search for days before presenting his request to God.  Then when he found the promise, he would pray with his Bible open.  He would place his finger on that promise, would plead that promise, and would receive what he asked.  He always prayed with an open Bible before him. 

Below is, in Mueller's own words, the fuller explanation of how Scripture strengthened his prayers, in terms of both their content and his confidence.  To see the original post, click here.



Food For the Inner Man – George Mueller


by George Mueller (1805-1898)
While I was staying at Nailsworth, it pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, irrespective of human instrumentality, as far as I know, the benefit of which I have not lost, though now…more than forty years have since passed away.
The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day, to have MY SOUL HAPPY IN THE LORD. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit.
Before this time my practice had been, at least for ten years previously, as a habitual thing, to give myself to prayer, after having dressed in the morning. Now I saw, that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it, that thus my heart may be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, whilst meditating, my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord. I began therefore, to meditate on the New Testament, from the beginning, early in the morning.
The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God; searching, as it were, into every verse, to get blessings out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word; not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul.. The result I have found to be almost invariably this, that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer.
When thus I have been for awhile making confession, or intercession, or supplication, or have given thanks, I go on to the next words or verse, turning all, as I go on, into prayer for myself or others, as the Word may lead to it; but still continually keeping before me, that food for my own soul is the object of my meditation. The result of this is, that there is always a good deal of confession, invariably is even sensibly nourished and strengthened and that by breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart. Thus also the Lord is pleased to communicate unto me that which, very soon after, I have found to become food for other believers, though it was not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word that I gave myself to meditation, but for the profit of my own inner man.
The difference between my former practice and my present one is this. Formerly, when I rose, I began to pray as soon as possible, and generally spent all my time till breakfast in prayer, or almost all the time. At all events I almost invariably began with prayer. But what was the result? I often spent a quarter of an hour, or even an hour on my knees, before being conscious to myself of having derived comfort, encouragement, humbling of soul, etc.; and often after having suffered much from wandering of mind of the first ten minutes, or a quarter of an hour, or even half an hour, I only then began really to pray.
I scarcely ever suffer now in this way. For my heart being nourished by the truth, being brought into experimental fellowship with God, I speak to my Father, and to my Friend (vile though I am, and unworthy of it!) about the things that He has brought before me in His precious Word.
It often now astonishes me that I did not sooner see this. In no book did I ever read about it. No public ministry ever brought the matter before me. No private intercourse with a brother stirred me up to this matter. And yet now, since God has taught me this point, it is a plain to me as anything that the first thing the child of God has to do morning by morning is to obtain food for his inner man.
As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time, except we take food, and as this is one of the first things we do in the morning, so it should be with the inner man. We should take food for that, as every one must allow. Now what is the food for the inner man: not prayer, but the Word of God: and here again not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.
I dwell so particularly on this point because of the immense spiritual profit and refreshment I am conscious of having derived from it myself, and I affectionately and solemnly beseech all my fellow-believers to ponder this matter. By the blessing of God I ascribe to this mode the help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through deeper trials in various ways than I had ever had before; and after having now above forty years tried this way, I can most fully, in the fear of God, commend it. How different when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials and the temptations of the day come upon one! – George Mueller


Fight to Pray

While discussing persistence in prayer with our small group last evening, an illustration came to mind. It was written by J. Sidlow Baxter, a 20th century pastor who ministered in England and Scotland. Like many a Christian, Baxter struggled to make prayer a priority. The creative way in which he shared his story has resonated with countless Christians, whose resolve has been strengthened by Baxter's own experience. May this account encourage us all to persist in prayer.


... My time for prayer was getting crowded out and my periods of study with the Bible were getting scarcer.

That was bad enough, but it was worse when I began to get used to it. And then I began excusing myself. My prayer life became a case of sinning and repenting. Every time I got down to pray I had to start weeping and asking the Lord’s forgiveness. I had to repent that I hadn’t prayed more and ask Him to help me to do better in the future. All such things really take the pleasure out of praying!

Then it all came to crisis. At a certain time one morning I looked at my watch. According to my plan, for I was still bravely persevering, I was to withdraw for an hour of prayer.I looked at my watch and it said: “Time for prayer, Sid.”

But I looked at my desk and there was a miniature mountain of correspondence. And conscience said, “You ought to answer those letters.” So, as we say in Scotland, I swithered. I vacillated. Shall it be prayer? Shall it be letters? Yes, no. Yes, no. Yes, no. And while I was swithering a velvety little voice began to speak in my inner consciousness: “Look here, Sid, what’s all this bother? You know very well what you should do. The practical thing is to get those letters answered. You can’t afford the time for prayer this morning. Get those letters answered.”

But I still swithered, and the voice began to reinforce what it had said. It said, “Look here, Sid, don’t you think the Lord knows all the busy occupations which are taking your time? You’re converted, you’re born again and you’re in the ministry. People are crowding in; you’re having conversions. Doesn’t that show that God is pleased with you? And even if you can’t pray, don’t worry too much about it. Look, Sid, you’d better face up to it. You’re not one of the spiritual ones!”

Ouch!

I don’t want to use extravagant phrases, but if you had plunged a dagger into my boson it couldn’t have hurt me more. “Sid, you are not one of the spiritual ones.”

I’m not the introspective type, but that morning I took a good look into Sidlow Baxter. And I found that there was an area of me that did not want to pray. I had to admit it. It didn’t want to pray. But I looked more closely and I found that there was a part of me that did. The part that didn’t was the emotions and the part that did was the intellect and the will.

Suddenly I found myself asking Sidlow Baxter: “Are you going to let your will be dragged about by your changeful emotions?”

And I said to my will: “Will, are you ready for prayer?”

And Will said, “Here I am, I’m ready.”

So Will and I set off to pray. But the minute we turned our footsteps to go and pray all my emotions began to talk: “We’re not coming, we’re not coming.”

And I said to Will, “Will, can you stick it?”

And Will said, “Yes, if you can.”

So Will and I, we dragged off those wretched emotions and we went to pray and stayed an hour in prayer.

It was a fight all the way.

If you had asked me afterwards, “Did you have a good time?” do think I could have said yes? A good time? No, it was a fight all the way!

What I would have done without the companionship of Will, I don’t know. In the middle of the most earnest intercessions I suddenly found one of the principal emotions way out on the golf course, playing golf. And I had to run to the golf course and say, “Come back.” And a few minutes later I found another of the emotions; it had traveled one and a half days in advance and it was in the pulpit preaching a sermon I had not even yet prepared. And I had to say, “Come back.”

I certainly couldn’t have said we had a good time. It was exhausting, but we did it.

The next morning came. I looked at my watch and it was time. I said to Will, “Come on, Will, it’s time for prayer.” And all the emotions began to pull the other way and I said, “Will, can you stick it?” And Will said, “Yes, in fact I think I’m stronger after the struggle yesterday morning.” So Will and I went in again.

The same thing happened. Rebellious, tumultuous, uncooperative emotions. If you had asked me, “Have you had a good time?” I would have had to tell you with tears, “No, the heavens were like brass. It was a job to concentrate. I had an awful time with the emotions.”

Then the change…

This went on for about two and a half weeks. But Will and I stuck it out. Then one morning during that third week I looked at my watch and I said, “Will it’s time for prayer.  Are you ready?” And Will Said, “Yes, I’m ready.”

And just as we were going in, I heard one of my chief emotions say to the others, “Come on, fellows, there’s no use wearing ourselves out: they’ll go on whatever we do.”

That morning we didn’t have any hilarious experience of wonderful visions with heavenly voices and raptures. But Will and I were able with less distraction to get on with praying. And that went on for another two or three weeks. In fact, Will and I had begun to forget the emotions. I would say, “Will, are you ready for prayer?” And Will replied, “Yes, I’m always ready.”

Suddenly one day while Will and I were pressing our case at the throne of the heavenly glory one of the chief emotions shouted, “Hallelujah!” and all the other emotions suddenly shouted, “Amen!” For the first time the whole territory of James Sidlow Baxter was happily coordinated in the exercise of prayer and God suddenly became real and heaven was wide open and Christ was there and the Holy Spirit was moving and I knew that all the time God had been listening.

The point is this: the validity and the effectuality of prayer are not determined or even affected by the subjective psychological condition of the one who prays. The thing that makes prayer valid and vital and moving and operative is, “My faith takes hold of God’s truth.”

Brothers and sisters, soon now we shall be meeting Him. When you meet Him, and I speak reverently, when you feel His arms around you and when you embrace as well as adore Him, don’t you want to be able to look into that wonderful face and say, “Lord, at last I’m seeing face-to-face the One I have for years known heart to heart.”

Why don’t you resolve that from this time on you will be a praying Christian? You will never, never, never regret it!  Never!


Great Tips for Group Prayer

Last Sunday I preached part one of a two-part sermon entitled Why Bother to Pray as a Church? Acts 1:12-26 gives us three good reasons:
  1. Prayer unites the people of God.
  2. Prayer sheds light on the Word of God.
  3. Prayer invites direction from God.
While exploring the first point, we saw that corporate prayer throughout Scripture is God's people seeking God's face as one body in one voice about one thing. Prayer unites the people of God! Prayer rallies the church around the will of God. Such was the experience of the early church, and the same can be our experience today.


Here are some practical suggestions for participating in corporate prayer:
  1. Come prepared to pray by stirring up your faith. "No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you..." (Isa. 64:7). This verse describes those who are spiritually dead. Christians, on the other hand, should be marked by an attitude that says, "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?" (Ps. 42:1-2). Nothing primes the pump of prayer like Scripture. So stir up your faith by feasting on the Word of God (cf. Rom. 10:17).
  2. Sit together. It's hard to be united in prayer when we're sitting far apart.
  3. Speak up! Others cannot agree with or affirm what they cannot hear.
  4. Pray simply and conversationally. Avoid "preachy" praying and ministerial, unnatural tones. You're talking to God. Therefore your goal should be to express your heart, not to impress others.
  5. Keep prayers concise, clear, and to the point. Long-winded, rambling prayers make prayer meetings boring, dull, and downright frustrating.
  6. Don't read long passages of Scripture. As a general rule, limit your reading to a few verses that express praise, iterate a promise, or emphasize a certain truth highlighted in your prayer.
  7. Don't pray through your personal prayer list. You can do that during your daily quiet time. Corporate prayer unites God's people as they seek God's face together as one body in one voice about one thing.
  8. Ask God; don't explain things to him. Don't waste time telling God what he already knows. Prayer is not supposed to be a commentary but an expression of our dependence on God. "And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9).
  9. Avoid addressing others in the room under pretense of prayer. Corporate prayer is no substitute for personal conversation or confrontation, so don't make it one.
  10. Once you have prayed, wait for other people to pray before praying again. Allow the Spirit of God to prompt others to pray. This adds beauty and balance to corporate praying.
  11. When in doubt about what to pray, ask for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on your church and city. No doubt this is what occurred when the fledgling church "went to the upper room ... [and] with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer" (Acts 1:13-14).
  12. Try not to pray too big or too small. Don't pray for anything outlandish and out of line with God's purposes. At the same time, avoid puny prayers that require no real dependence on God. Pray for things the group can "get its faith around." 
  13. Don't be afraid of silence. It's sometimes golden. There is "a time to keep silence, and a time to speak" (Eccl. 3:7). The wise person appreciates the benefits of both, knowing the Spirit of God may be speaking even when we aren't.
  14. Listen to, agree with, and affirm each pray-er. That's assuming, of course, that the prayer is scripturally based. Verbal expressions such as "amen," or "yes, Lord," encourage the person praying, keeps the group engaged, and expresses our solidarity before the throne of grace.
  15. Submit to pastoral guidelines. For various functional or logistical reasons, the spiritual leaders of your church may ask the church to follow certain guidelines during corporate prayer. Don't buck your leaders; obey them. The church will be built up, and you will be blessed.
The above list was adapted from an article by Eddie Smith in the Jan/Feb 1999 issue of Pray! magazine. If you'd like more practical suggestions, check out Ligon Duncan's "Thirty Two Principles for Public Prayer."

How Much We Miss!

This year for my daily Bible intake plan, I am following McCheyne's Bible Reading Schedule. One of the Old Testament readings for today included Numbers 5. If you read through this chapter without giving it a lot of thought, it seems a bit weird.

The chapter begins with the Lord's insistence that people who are ceremonially unclean are to be put out of the camp of Israel. From there the Lord tells Moses that those who are morally unclean are to make confession and restitution in the divinely prescribed manner. Then, beginning in verse 11, the Lord tells Moses what to do when a man suspects his wife of adultery but can't prove it. Let's just say it involves her drinking water with dirt from the tabernacle floor mixed in with some words of a curse washed off a scroll.  If the woman is innocent, no worries. If she's guilty, the water will cause her womb to swell and rot, inducing sterility.


Like I said, weird stuff. What on earth are we to make of this text? What's up with this ritual?

As I read through this chapter, two things came to mind. The first was a sermon that I heard Ligon Duncan preach on this very same chapter about eight years ago. I never forgot it. More on that in a moment.

The second thing that came to my mind, oddly enough, was a scene from Anne of Green Gables. (Yes, I confess, I have watched that video series many times with my wife. I purchased the series for her as a birthday gift the first year we were married.) In one scene, Anne asks Marilla, "Do you never imagine things different from what they really are?" "No," says Marilla. "Oh!" responds Anne, drawing a sharp breath. "Oh ... Marilla, how much you miss!"

Surely something similar could be said to the casual Bible reader: "Do you ever take the time to see things as they really are? Oh, how much you miss!"

Getting back to Ligon Duncan, I must say that his sermon on Numbers 5 showed me the beauty of the gospel from this obscure text. He took no interpretive leaps to make that happen; rather, he delved into the text, revealed its place in the storyline of Scripture, and showed how it ultimately pointed us to the gravity of our sin and the grace of God in Christ.  I would encourage you to read Ligon's sermon -- both Part One ("Defiled") and Part Two ("The Adultery Test"). I believe that as a result of reading this sermon, you will be not only spiritually enriched but also highly motivated to study God's Word at a deeper level on a more consistent basis.

The late and highly esteemed Dallas Theological Seminary professor Howard Hendricks was known to say, "There is no jewel more precious than that which you have mined yourself." May this motivate us to dig more deeply into the infinitely valuable treasure of God's truth.

A Closer Look at Luke: Part Two

In my last post I pointed out four traits about Luke, the writer of the Gospel that bears his name, as well as the book of Acts. In addition to Luke's humility, professionalism, writing, and missionary concern, there are four other traits that we should consider. These characteristics are discussed by Michael Green in his book Thirty Years that Changed the World.

5.  His care for disadvantaged people

"When quoting Isaiah 40:3, the theme song of John the Baptist to which all the synoptists refer, Luke alone gives the last part of the quotation, 'and all mankind will see God's salvation.' (Luke 3:6). Luke alone tells us that, 'the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost' (Luke 19:10). Those two hints give us insight into Luke's concern for 'left-over people', a concern that he displays constantly throughout his two books." In his Gospel, Luke shows that salvation is available to all: rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, beggars and nobles, prostitutes and religious leaders. In Acts the gospel goes out to Gentiles, Samaritans, the untouchables, the poor and outcast, soldiers and sorcerers. "To preach good news to the poor, the disadvantaged, the left-over people, the women, that is the glory of the gospel, and it is important to Luke. When churches really care about the poor, society sits up and takes notice. People are surprised."

6.  Prayer and praise

These traits occupy Luke. "His two books are full of them. This may seem ordinary and obvious. But it is not. There are not many churches where prayer is a power, and where praise takes off." Luke says a lot about the prayer life of Jesus, whose example inspired his disciples to pray. "In Acts prayer is crucial. When the Christians pray, the Spirit comes, prison doors open, the place of worship is shaken, they speak with boldness." Pray occurs in prison, in the home, on the beach, and in the temple. Furthermore, the phrase "'praising God' occurs more times in Luke's writings than the whole of the New Testament.... Luke's Gospel begins and ends in the temple with people praising God (1:9; 24:53), and that atmosphere is carried into the Acts." Green rightly concludes, "There is a tremendous power in praise: we often rob ourselves of its potency because our offering of praise to God is too contingent on how we feel, or on our circumstances. We do not sufficiently honor him for who he is and for his astounding mercy to us in adopting us into his family. A church where praise is a way of life is a church that exhibits the beauty, and the impact, of the Lord."


7.  Luke's loyalty

"This man had courage and stickability. He had determined to give his life to working with this missionary Paul, and he did. 'Only Luke is with me' (2 Timothy 4:11). His loyalty stood out." Surely this character trait of loyalty played a crucial role in the impact of the early church. "Their loyalty to each other, to Jesus Christ, to the calling he had given them, forged them into a mighty task-force. By contrast, in many parts of the world today the church is only visible on Sundays." Yet in other parts of the world, "the church manifests the same power as it did in the first century. In God's book there are no prizes for marginal commitment."

8.  His spiritual expectancy

"The Holy Spirit is mentioned five times in the Gospel of Matthew, four times in Mark, and fifty-three times in Luke-Acts! That says it all. The start of the Gospel is a continuous narrative of the Spirit at work." Luke "is fascinated with the work of the Spirit, in the church." There is a constant spirit of expectancy as to what God will do. "That is the sort of climate when God can work -- when his people are experiencing and trusting him to do so."


Which of these eight traits in Luke do you find the most striking and significant for you personally? Are there other traits you see demonstrated in the writings of this remarkable man? I would love to read your comments!

A Closer Look at Luke: Part One

Luke wrote 28% of the New Testament, including its longest book, the Gospel of Luke. But not a whole lot is written about Luke himself. His name appears only three times in the New Testament (Col. 4:14; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:11). From these few references we can glean that Luke was a doctor, a Gentile Christian, and a companion of Paul who was passionate about spreading the gospel.

But so much more can be said, and ought to be said, about Luke. In his book Thirty Years That Changed the World, Michael Green shares eight traits of the man Luke that we should all seek to emulate. I'll share the first four traits today:

1.  His humility

"It is perfectly astonishing that this gifted man, responsible for two of the most exciting books in the world, should have been content to say nothing at all about himself." The closest Luke ever comes to mentioning himself is in the "we passages" of Acts. Where was Luke the rest of the time? "He was quietly beavering away in Philippi, building up the church there from a handful of ex-mediums, jailers and business people into the church to which Paul could write the Epistle to the Philippians. Who had been responsible for the build up of this church? Who lies behind its [elders] and deacons, its love and joy and generosity? Probably none other than Luke. And he does not say a word about it! To me that is truly Christlike humility" (Green, 28-29). Indeed!

2.  His professionalism

Luke was a doctor. That was his profession. But he didn't let his job get in the way of serving Jesus. Luke was "willing to sacrifice his professional prospects to go where he felt God was calling him, and to stay loyal to a friend who needed him." Thus Luke was a doctor who ministered not only to people's physical needs, but also to their spiritual needs. Says Green, "I known of a leading psychiatrist who thinks it a bad week if he does not help two or three of his patients to Christ. Many would throw up their hands at such an idea. But why? Surely the task of the physician is to help people to wholeness and health. If it is perfectly plain to the doctor that the patient's real trouble is spiritual, and if he is equipped to deal with it, why on earth should he not do so? And if you tell me that matters of private conviction should not be brought into the market place, I have to reply that such a disjunction dates only back to the Enlightenment and has proved disastrous for our society.... It seems to me both proper and admirable for [medical professionals] to use their best insights, not excluding the spiritual, for the good of their patients.... Christians work not only to make money and do a useful job, but to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ. And until that happens on a large scale we shall not see a transformation of society such as was so evident in the first and second centuries. Luke quietly shows us the way."


3.  His writing

Luke was an educated man who, in addition to his medical expertise, possessed marvelous research and writing skills. "But the interesting thing is that in the midst of a busy life this man used his opportunities for research, limited though they were, with diligence. And at the same time he seems to have stayed fresh for Christ. Library work often dulls zeal. You can just watch the enthusiasm for Christ, so marked in freshmen at a Christian teaching institution, drop away as they dive into a world of books and libraries, research and essays. Just a few manage to retain that spiritual vitality throughout. Luke was noteworthy for it."

4.  His missionary concern

"He cannot keep quiet about the gospel. He is always talking about it, and always doing it. He seems to be utterly committed to Christian mission. He has more to say about salvation in his two books than has the whole of the rest of the New Testament put together. He is constantly stressing repentance, faith, baptism, and outreach to every kind of person in ever-widening circles. ... His pen, his tongue, and his career are at the service of the gospel."

May the same be said of us! We'll look at the last four traits of Luke next week.

Easter Every Sunday

"If only we could duplicate this every week!" That's what our pastoral staff was thinking the day after our exhilarating Easter service. Of course we know that real revival is not the product of human planning or ingenuity, but comes alone from God. The Spirit of God is like the wind; he blows wherever he wishes (John 4:8). But that doesn't excuse passivity on our part. As G. Campbell Morgan put it,
We cannot organize revival, but we can set our sails to catch the wind from Heaven when God chooses to blow upon His people once again.
Based on observations about Easter Sunday, I would like to suggest four things we can do as God's people to make every Lord's Day a vibrant worship experience:


1.  Anticipate

On Easter Sunday, people came to church expecting a great service. They looked forward to gathering with God's people. They allowed sufficient time to get ready. They arrived early. They came with happy hearts.

Their anticipation of a great service ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy, so to speak. Their prediction became their experience. This reminds me of a conversation that took place between a discouraged minister and the great 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon. The down-hearted pastor lamented that people weren't coming to faith in Christ at his church. Spurgeon said, "You don't expect people to get saved every week, do you?"  "No, of course not," said the minister. "Well, there's your problem," Spurgeon replied.

If we would see the Spirit of God work among us each week, we must anticipate his presence and prepare accordingly.

2.  Celebrate

On Easter Sunday, our congregation was less inhibited in their worship. That is to say, they expressed their praise in the way that seemed most fitting, without being paranoid of what other people thought. Some clapped, raised their hands, and shouted, "Praise the Lord!" Others didn't. Fact is, some people are more expressive in worship, while others are more reserved.

Worship is ultimately a matter of the heart. Jesus declared,
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
- John 4:24
No one should ever feel "forced" to worship God in prescribed manner in terms of outward expression. Though "all things should be done decently and in order" (1 Cor. 14:40), we can still celebrate our diversity.
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
- 1 Corinthians 12:18-20
Authentic corporate worship is marked by a unity that pervades our diversity. Our goal is to reflect the diversity of our congregation and culture as we worship our one God and Savior Jesus Christ.

This leads to the third critical factor of vibrant worship:

3.  Elevate

Lift high the cross;
the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore
His sacred name.


I love what one church posted on their website: "Worship itself cannot lead us into God's presence. Only Jesus can bring us into God's presence, and he has done it through a single sacrifice that will never be repeated - only joyfully recounted and trusted in." So true!

In his book Ministering Like the Master, Stuart Olyott asks a key question:  

How can I know a greater measure of the Spirit of God?

To answer his own question, Olyott considers the ritual recorded in Leviticus 8. Aaron and his sons are consecrated to serve as priests in Israel. At a certain point, blood from the sacrifice was placed on the right ear, right thumb, and right big toe of each one of them. Shortly after that, anointing oil was put on the same places. Wherever the blood went, the oil went.

Wherever the blood goes, the oil goes. We can never "improve our act" to the point where our lives and our worship are acceptable to God. The only thing we can ever do is go to the Lord to receive his forgiveness and a fresh supply of his mercy and grace. Says Olyott, "I find that when I have a renewed sense of his blood cleansing me, I also have a sense of his Spirit helping me."

As we elevate Christ and the great salvation he accomplished for us, we experience life-changing encounters with his Holy Spirit.

4.  Perpetuate

"To make something continue." That's what we want when it comes to God-glorifying, Christ-exalting, Spirit-empowered worship! That can only happen as we commit ourselves to the weekly gathering of God's people. Scripture is unequivocally clear on this point:
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day [of Jesus' return] drawing near.
- Hebrews 10:24-25
Every Lord's Day is a celebration of our Savior's resurrection! So let's ensure a great turn-out by showing up ourselves and also by inviting non-Christians who need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. 


Anticipate. Celebrate. Elevate. Perpetuate.  

Is it in you?

A Weekend Prayer

For many years my prayer life has been enriched by The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. Though the language is somewhat antiquated, the prayers reflect a theological and devotional richness, the value of which does not diminish with the passing of time. The following is a prayer suited particularly for the end of the week. It is entitled "Lord's Day Eve":

God of the passing hour,
Another week has gone and I have been preserved
in my going out,
in my coming in.
Thine has been the vigilance that has turned threatened evils aside;
thine the supplies that have nourished me;
Thine the comforts that have indulged me;
Thine the relations and friends that have delighted me;
Thine the means of grace which have edified me;
Thine the Book, which, amidst all my enjoyments, has told me that this is not my rest,
that in all successes one thing alone is needful, to love my Saviour.
Nothing can equal the number of thy mercies but my imperfections and sins.
These, O God, I will neither conceal nor palliate, but confess with a broken heart.
In what condition would secret reviews of my life leave me
were it not for the assurance that with thee there is plenteous redemption,
that thou art a forgiving God,
that thou mayest be feared!
While I hope for pardon through the blood of the cross,
I pray to be clothed with humility,
to be quickened in thy way,
to be more devoted to thee,
to keep the end of my life in view,
to be cured of the folly of delay and indecision,
to know how frail I am,
to number my days and apply my heart unto wisdom.

The Future of Christian Schooling

I've been pastoring in upstate New York for a few years, and in that small window of time, multiple Christian schools in our area have shut down. Our own school has experienced a steady decline in enrollment the last several years, and we are at a crossroads ourselves.

Actually, I prefer to call it our "zero hour" - the time at which a planned operation is set to begin. Our leadership team sees the coming year as a rebirth of an institution which, done rightly, becomes a discipleship factory. The point of this article is not to lay out our plan before the blogosphere, but to share some key principles that are vital to the success of our institution along with every other Christian school in America.

What follows is not a comprehensive list, but the highlighting of three essentials for success. I came across these principles in an article entitled "Does Your Christian School Have a Future?" This article appeared in CSE: A Magazine for Christian School Educators (vol. 18, no. 3, 2014/15). To read the whole article, click here.

Gene Frost, the writer of the article, presented three principles that he gleaned from Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their book Built to Last (1997), and found them to be woven into the fabric of the most successful Christian schools across the country. Here's an overview of the three principles:

1.  Find educational leaders who are clock builders, not time tellers.

Time tellers are do-it-alone leaders who can always tell you what time it is, figuratively speaking. But when they aren't around, no one knows what time it is, and therefore have no clue what to do. But a clock builder is building the institutional clock. He knows how to get all the gears in place. This is a clock that everyone can reference and that will continue to be there long after the leader is gone. By looking to the clock, everyone knows what time it is and what to do.

Time tellers work tirelessly, sincerely believing that their hard work and long hours will pay off.  The problem is that time tellers fail to distinguish between employees who with the right training and opportunity can help to build the future of the institution, and the employees who were perpetuating the status quo. Time tellers end up managing those who are willing to hold on till the institution dies a slow and painful death.

2.  Discover the "genius of the AND."

Have you ever noticed that the best selling cars are the ones that are able to combine economy and performance? Likewise, current-day families are looking for value in our schools, and this value will only be created by the and. Instead of cutting programs -- deciding either football or soccer, choir or band, AP math or science -- educational leaders should be trying to find out how to do both.

Collins and Porras explain that the most important and that any enterprise needs to implement is preserving the core and stimulating progress. So many schools are caught up in preserving the core that they end up merely preserving the past.  The "genius of the AND" means that you only stimulate progress that leads to preserving the core and you only preserve the core by stimulating appropriate progress.

3.  Don't lower tuition.

Dropping tuition is signing the school's death warrant. When you lower tuition, you are telling your market that you aren't worth the tuition you were charging. Furthermore, you must then out of necessity eliminate offering that create the value that attracted families and their students in the first place. As your perceived or real value decreases, you lose students, then you're forced to lower tuition even further. This downward spiral continues until you close your doors for good.

So if you want your school to flourish, look for a leader who is a clock builder, who understands the "genius of the AND," and who can lead your school on the long journey of preserving the core and stimulating progress.

Is God a Terrorist? What about the Doctrine of Hell?


Yesterday ISIS terrorists released an extremely graphic video that showed them burning a hostage alive. The victim was the Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh. The scene was absolutely horrific. The violence was barbaric.

Question: If burning one person alive for a matter of moments is considered unspeakably heinous, then how can burning millions of people in hell forever be considered holy?

It's a fair question, isn't it?

Is God a terrorist?

In the following 13-minute broadcast, David Platt (president of the International Mission Board) revisits the doctrine of hell, the character of God, and the significance of the gospel.


Am I Strong, Weak, or What?

Last Sunday I preached a sermon entitled Help the Weak, based on Romans 15:1-7.  As I explained near the outset of the sermon, the immediate context dealt with the matter of Christian liberty, but the broader principle was that stronger Christians should befriend and build up weaker Christians.

No doubt some believers left the worship service thinking, "Am I a strong Christian or a weak Christian?" To answer that question correctly, you must understand the terms "weak" and "strong." To gain a correct understanding, we must keep in mind the context. Paul began the discussion at the outset of Romans 14, where he refers to those who are "weak in the faith" (v. 1). "The faith" refers to the body of truth God has revealed to us through the Scriptures, particularly the gospel (see Col. 1:23; Jude 3).

So a "strong" Christian, in the context of Romans 14-15, is a believer who is well-grounded in Bible doctrine, particularly the gospel and the freedom it brings. A "weak" Christian is one who is not as well-grounded when it comes to understanding and living out their faith in Jesus Christ. Their weakness has nothing to do with their faithfulness to the Lord or their commitment to righteous living. It's important to remember that in the context of Romans 14-15, both the weak Christian and the strong Christian have a desire to please God.


Looking at this issue of weakness and strength in a broader and experiential sense, we can see that a couple of things are true:
  1. Strong Christians can be weak in some areas (e.g. fragile emotions), and weak Christians can be strong in some areas (e.g. compassion, generosity).
  2. Strong Christians can become weak in a given moment (e.g. when succumbing to temptation), and a weak Christian can demonstrate tremendous strength and resiliency (e.g. power in witnessing).
So spiritual weakness and strength can be demonstrated in certain areas and at certain times or seasons of our lives. For this reason Christians, whether weak or strong in terms of their doctrinal understanding, are to "welcome one another," "encourage one another," and "build up one another" to the glory of God. 

Certainly there is no room for pride on anyone's part. "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God as dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Romans 12:3). "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you are doing" (1 Thess. 5:11).

A Better Atmosphere for Breathing


"Did you know that spending time outside for 20 minutes a day reduces household sickness by 47 percent?" My wife, who is quite dedicated to her daily walk, had just read this statistic in a magazine and happily shared it with the rest of our family. 

It really is an impressive stat. Breathing in a cleaner atmosphere does wonders for your health. If this is true physically, how much more so spiritually? Many homes and churches suffer from spiritually unhealthy atmospheres.   They are filled with the bacteria of bitterness, anger and resentment. They are permeated with the germs of gossip, complaining, backbiting, and other unwholesome talk.

Some of these very sins were addressed at our church in last Sunday's sermon on Ephesians 4:25-32. Sin grieves the Spirit of God, for he is, after all, the Holy Spirit.  Anything that is not holy is distasteful to him and diminishes his work among us.

What exactly is the Holy Spirit's work? That's a loaded question, for the work of God's Spirit is multi-faceted. He guides and directs God's people, gives us assurance, teaches us, illumines us, and unifies us, among other things. But one of the primary purposes of the Holy Spirit in this present age, as noted by theological Wayne Grudem, is to "make the presence of God known." He does this in ways that show "he is working to fulfill his purposes in the church and to bring blessing to his people." (Systematic Theology, p. 641)

When we grieve the Holy Spirit, we're only hurting ourselves. We make ourselves miss out on the manifest presence of God and all the blessings that accompany it. We poison the atmosphere of our home and church. So if we want to cultivate the Spirit's presence rather than kill it, then:
  1. We must not tell lies, for he is the "Spirit of truth" (John 16:13).
  2. We must not give in to sinful anger, for he is the "Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29).
  3. We must not steal, for he is the Spirit who distributes gifts from God (1 Cor. 12:11).
  4. We must not speak corruptly, for the Holy Spirit fills our mouths God's word (Acts 4:31; Eph. 18-19).
Years ago Michael W. Smith came out with a song entitled "Breathe." The song begins with these lyrics:

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me.

Frankly, I never cared much for the song because it lacked doctrinal substance. But when sung in the context of the biblical truths discussed above, this musical prayer is quite appropriate. A Christian living in sin should feel like a fish out of water. To be a Christian is to live "in the Spirit" (Rom. 8:9), and the Spirit always produces a Godlike atmosphere when he manifests his presence.

How can you cooperate with the Holy Spirit to promote spiritual health in your home and church?



Proof of the Spirit's Presence

As part of last Sunday's sermon, I shared six ways to cultivate and experience the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives. I adapted this list from the one that appeared in J. D. Greear's newly released book, Jesus, Continued...: Why the Spirit Inside You Is Better Than Jesus Beside You. I read this book in its entirety between Christmas and New Year's, and it was a tremendous encouragement to me spiritually. While I differ with Greear on a point here and there, any disagreements are relatively minor and are not substantial enough to keep me from giving a "thumbs up" on the book. In the brief video clip below, J. D. Greear tells us about his book and mentions the six ways we can experience the Spirit's presence:


If I had more time on Sunday, I would have talked not only about the Spirit's presence, but also about the proof of the Spirit's presence. Certainly a major indication would be the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23, virtues such as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...." But we find additional evidence delineated in Ephesians 5. In verse 18 we find the command, "Be filled with the Spirit." This directive is followed by four proofs of the Spirit's filling. They appear as five participles (words formed from verbs but used as adjectives) in verses 19-21:
  1. addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs: The Spirit-filled Christian speaks God's truth to others in such a way that encourages them and builds them up in the Lord.
  2. singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart: The Spirit-filled Christian has a heart that is fully devoted to God. He expresses this by "singing his heart out" to God, especially gathered with fellow believers for worship. 
  3. giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: The Spirit-filled Christian has a life marked by gratitude. This gratitude persists even through unpleasant circumstances because it is God-focused and Christ-centered.
  4. submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ: The Spirit-filled Christian selflessly serves others out of love and respect for Jesus Christ.
Can you imagine how different our church would be if each of us was truly Spirit-filled? Think about it! No wonder Scripture exhorts us to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18) and "go on to maturity" (Hebrews 6:1).

One thing is for sure: As we grow, it will show!

The Next in Line

On December 12, I received my Master of Divinity degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The occasion was sweetened by my family's presence at the graduation ceremony. My wife and our three youngest sons, as well as my dad and youngest brother, were able to make the trip to Louisville, Kentucky, for this special day.

The commencement exercises took place in Alumni Chapel, which was beautifully decorated for Christmas. The ninety-minute program was really a worship service that consisted of Scripture reading from both the Old and New Testaments, several Christmas hymns, meaningful prayers, and a timely commencement address from seminary president R. Albert Mohler, Jr.


But my favorite part of the ceremony was "The Graduation Pledge" that took place after the conferring of the degrees, the presentation of the diplomas, and the declaration of graduation. As the graduates recited the pledge in unison, we were reminded that our commencement came with a commitment. As I read the following words aloud, my eyes moistened with tears, and a lump formed in my throat.
As graduates of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, we hereby declare to the watching world that we are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ who are called to ministry and service by the power of the Holy Spirit. By grace we have been saved, and by grace we have been called into the service of our Lord and of his Christ. On this day of graduation and commencement, with gladness we join that long line of faithful servants who have gone before us. With gratitude we have received the privilege of theological education.We are now stewards of a priceless inheritance and servants of a church that has been fed by generations of pastors and shepherds, planted by missionaries, served by those who labored in obscurity, and watered by the blood of martyrs. We now take up our charge and eagerly take our place. We stand on the truth of God's Word, on the power of the Gospel, and on the faith once for all delivered to the saints. We will minister in fidelity and in the purity of the Gospel, letting no harm come to the church by our hands, no injury by our tongues, and no hindrance to the Kingdom by our lives. We are unashamed of the Gospel, determined to serve wherever God may call us, knowing that by the power of the resurrected Christ, our labor is not in vain.  We are heralds of the good news, stewards of the mysteries of God, and torchbearers to the nations. We are soldiers of Christ, arrayed in truth, and we commit the length of our days to the service of our Savior. We are graduates of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. By God's grace, we are the next in line.
How can a pastor read those words and not feel overwhelmed by the solemnity of the call to ministry, the joy of serving Christ, and the weight of responsibility that comes with such a privilege? I find myself crying out with the apostle Paul, "Who is sufficient for these things?" (2 Cor. 2:16). Then I immediately respond, as Paul did, "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.... But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Cor. 3:4-5; 4:7).

Yes, by God's grace, we are the next in line. As I think about the implications of such a standing, my hope is best expressed by Jon Mohr's hymn that Christian recording artist Steve Green sang years ago:

O may all who come behind us find us faithful;
May the fire of our devotion light their way!
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live
Inspire them to obey.
O may all who come behind us find us faithful!





Mary's Saturated Mind

Saturated
[sach-uh-rey-tid]

soaked, impregnated, or imbued thoroughly; charged thoroughly or completely; brought to a state of saturation.

One of the most formidable challenges of biblical preaching is to condense 20+ hours of study material into a 40-minute sermon. Do the math. That’s a one-minute summary for every 30 minutes of study. This being the case, there is always more I want to say in the course of a sermon but can’t, due to time constraints. 

While preaching through Mary’s song of praise (Magnificat) in Luke 1:46-55, I noticed something that I didn’t share in my sermon, and that was this: Mary’s prayer is replete with Scripture.  While commentators are quick to point out similarities between Mary’s prayer and that of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, most of them neglect to point out other Scripture passages that Mary utilized.  Here is a comparison of Mary's Magnificat with other Scripture passages, as noted by William Hendriksen in his commentary:
  • Luke 1:46-47 with Ps. 103:1
  • Luke 1:48 with 1 Sam. 1:11
  • Luke 1:49 with Ps. 22:3; 71:22; 89:18; 99:3; 103:1
  • Luke 1:50 with Ps. 103:17
  • Luke 1:51 with Ps. 44:3; 98:1; Isa. 53:1; Ps. 89:10; Job 12:19
  • Luke 1:52 with 2 Sam. 22:28; 22:18; Job 5:11
  • Luke 1:53 with Ps. 103:5; 107:9
  • Luke 1:54 with Ps. 98:3; 147:2, 19; 25:6; 98:3; 136 (second part of each verse)
  • Luke 1:55 with Gen. 12:2-3; 17:7; 22:15-18; Exod. 2:24; 2 Sam. 22:51; Ps. 105:6-10; Micah 7:20

Hendricksen notes, "The system of education in Israel was such that from early childhood children were taught 'the sacred writings' (II Tim. 3:15)." Because Mary's mind was saturated with Scripture, it was natural for her to express her praise in biblical language.

 Both the Old Testament and New Testament make it clear that the person who meditates on God's Word day and night is blessed as he believes and obeys it (Ps. 1; John 13:17; James 1:25).  Parents have the privilege and responsibility to teach the Scriptures diligently to their children (Deut. 6:5-9; cf. Eph. 6:4). 

How are we doing when it comes to knowing God's Word? Are our minds saturated with Scripture? What about the minds of our children?

As I was wrapping up my study of Mary's Magnificat and thinking along these lines, I took part in a weekend consultation seminar on Christian education. I was reminded of the invaluable role that Christian education plays in the discipleship ministry of the church. The mission statement of our own Christian school is to "assist parents in their God-given responsibility to provide a Christ-centered education for their children that meets or exceeds standard of academic excellence." 

What a glorious mission! I pray that our students would graduate with minds saturated with the truth of God and a heart committed to serving him. Just like Mary. 

 After I preached on Mary's Magnificat, a member of our music team sent me the following song which is based almost word-for-word on the text (Luke 1:46-55). You can ignore the video graphics. Simply close your eyes, listen, and lift your heart to the Lord. May our minds and hearts be increasingly saturated with his truth. May God's own words be the language of our praise.

Singular Passion

A week and a half ago, Billy Graham turned 96.  I once had the privilege of meeting Billy Graham in a the home of a mutual friend back in 1999. It was one of the unexpected highlights of my life. My father came to Christ upon hearing one of Billy Graham's sermons, as did my dad's older brother, who later founded the Pioneers missions organization.  

 Way back in 1957 at the Urbana missions conference, Dr. Graham preached on the nature of true commitment to Jesus Christ.  That was the theme of my sermon on Philippians 3:12-21 this past Lord's Day.  I had wanted to share the following illustration during my sermon, but I was running short on time so decided to share this story on my blog instead.

During his 1957 Urbana address, Billy Graham pulled out a copy of a letter that the pastor of the Presbyterian church in his hometown had given him.  The letter was written by a university student after he had gone to Mexico and become a Communist.  He wrote to his fiancée, breaking off their engagement.  Here is part of what he said:
We Communists have a high casualty rate. We're the ones who get shot and hung and lynched and tarred and feathered and jailed and slandered, and ridiculed 
and fired from our jobs, and in every other way made as uncomfortable as possible. 
A certain percentage of us get killed or imprisoned. We live in virtual poverty. 
We turn back to the party every penny we make above what is absolutely necessary
to keep us alive. 
We Communists don't have the time or the money for many movies, or concerts, 
or T-bone steaks, or decent homes and new cars. We've been described as fanatics. 
We are fanatics. Our lives are dominated by one great overshadowing factor, 
THE STRUGGLE FOR WORLD COMMUNISM.


We Communists have a philosophy of life which no amount of money could buy. We have a cause to fight for, a definite purpose in life. We subordinate 
our petty personal selves into a great movement of humanity, and if our personal lives seem hard, or our egos appear to suffer through subordination to the 
party, then we are adequately compensated by the thought that each of us in
his small way is contributing to something new and true and better for mankind.  There is one thing in which I am dead earnest and that is the Communist cause. It is my life, my business, my religion, my hobby, my sweetheart, my wife and mistress, my bread and meat. I work at it in the daytime and dream 
of it at night. Its hold on me grows, not lessens as time goes on. Therefore I cannot carry on a friend-ship, a love affair, or even a conversation without 
relating to this force which both drives and guides my life.  I evaluate people,
books, ideas and actions according to how they effect the Communist cause
and by their attitude toward it.  I've already been in jail because of my ideas
and if necessary, I'm ready to go before a firing squad.

If someone could be so radically committed to such a flawed political system such as Communism, how much more should Christians be committed to the King of kings and Lord of lords, whose "kingdom is one that will never be destroyed" (Daniel 7:14)? Indeed, Jesus himself declared, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matt. 16:24). C.T. Studd understood the implications of Jesus' call to discipleship, stating, "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."

 What are the implications of Jesus' call for your life?  What sacrifice are you willing to make for Him?