Something for Your Monday

You have to watch this Video, all the way through...You'll at least get a good smile out of it;)

Walking in Repentance

The Valley of Vision is a small book stored with rich literature from the Puritans. They are mainly composed of prayers of different topics. What stands out most to me after reading through so many of them, is their utter hatred for and suspicion of their sin. As this prayer below reflects on the continuance of repentance (don't miss: "I need to repent of my repentance; I need my tears to be washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness"), be in awe of our great Father's great grace.

"O God of Grace,

You have imputed my sin to my Substitute, and have imputed His righteousness to my soul, clothing me with a bridegroom’s robe, decking me with jewels of holiness. But in my Christian walk I am still in rags; my best prayers are stained with sin; my penitential tears are so much impurity; my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin; my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness.

I need to repent of my repentance; I need my tears to be washed; I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loom to weave my own righteousness; I am always standing clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment, for you always justify the ungodly; I am always going into the far country, and always returning home as a prodigal, always saying, “Father, forgive me,” and you are always bringing forth the best robe.

Every morning let me wear it, every evening return in it, go out to the day’s work in it, be married in it, be wound in death in it, stand before the great white throne in it, enter heaven in it shining as the sun.

Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the exceeding righteousness of salvation, the exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of holiness, the exceeding wonder of grace."

The heart of the pray-er who penned these words surely "exceeds" my continual repentance. May we walk in repentance, putting off our filthy rags and dressing ourselves in our Savior's robes of righteousness.

A Prayer for Power

A prayer for the ROCK group...

"For this reason we bow our knees before our Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 

that according to the riches of Your glory, You may grant the ROCK Group to be strengthened with power through Your Spirit in our inner being, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith,

that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,

that we may be filled with all Your fullness."

-Ephesians 3:14–19

May our heavenly Father grant to us, according to the riches of His glory: strength, sight, and satisfaction.

1.) Strength--the strength of the Spirit (Acts 1:8 "you will receive power [Gr. dunamis--from which we get "dynamite"] when the Holy Spirit has come upon you") in our inner man where Christ now dwells richly in us (Gal 2:20 "no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me," and Col 3:16 "the word of Christ dwell richly within you").

2.) Sight--only from a position of being rooted deeply and grounded firmly in the love of God (Col 2:6, 7 "as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him") may we have strength to comprehend and see ("Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law" Ps 119:18) the boundless dimensions of God's love for us in Christ.

3.) Satisfaction--the perfect man or woman is the one who is completely full of God ("For in him [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" Col 2:9) and satisfied in Him ("Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" Ps 90:14).

"Now to You who are able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to You be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." 

-Ephesians 3:20, 21

The Sacrificial Lamb

Yom Kippur was on Saturday this weekend. On the biblical calendar, this is one of the most important days because it was when atonement was made for the nation of Israel (Leviticus 16:1–34).

Leviticus 23:26 says, "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 'Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord...28b to make atonement for you before the Lord you God."

I came across this video that will really grip your emotions and fix your eyes on the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). You will NEVER read Isaiah 53 the same way again. "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter" so our Savior was captured and crucified on the cross.

Never forget the cross, nor the Lamb.

What is Expository Preaching?

Ever wondered what "expository preaching" is really all about? Are we as a church doing it right? If you tried out all the churches in the Antelope Valley would you notice a difference between how they all handle God's Word? Here is an short video discussion between three men who have faithfully exposited the Word of God in their respective churches.

Upon watching this 10min clip, I hope you will...

1. Be able to define and describe what "Expository Preaching" is;

2. Have a greater respect for the preacher's regular responsibility in preparing and preaching sermons for churches around the world;

3. Be able to engage more on Sunday mornings with each sermon;

4. Know how to pray for preachers of the Word more educatedly;

5. Have a greater reverence for God's Word;

6. Be more grateful for Valley's commitment to proclaim God's Word.

He Has Made Himself Known!

From Psalm 19:1–11, we learn about "General Revelation" and "Special Revelation" from King David. No doubt it is a more challenging theological concept, but it is well worth trying to understand the best we can.

Brief definition of the biblical concepts:

1. "General Revelation"--God revealing Himself to mankind generally through Creation (Psalm 19:1–6).

What the Bible says about the concept of "General Revelation":

Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."

Also see Romans 1:19–20 "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."

(For more fun reading on this Main Point #1: Psalm 8:3–4; Isaiah 40:12–15; Acts 14:15–17; Romans 2:14–16 referring to the voice of God in the conscience of EVERY man)

2. "Special Revelation"--God revealing Himself to mankind especially through the Word of God (Psalm 19:7–11) AND the Person of Jesus Christ (Gal 4:4; John 14:9).

There are two sources of "Special Revelation" of God: the Word of God and the Son of God.

First of all, the Word of God being Special Revelation.

From our text from Friday night, please see Psalm 19:7–11.

2 Peter 1:19–21 "And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God las they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

1 Corinthians 2:9 "But, as it is written,

'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him'—

10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ."

Secondly, the Son of God as the supreme Special Revelation of God.

Galatians 4:4, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law."

Hebrews 1:1–3 "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 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. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Other ways God has revealed Himself to mankind (in the past, not presently):

a. Theophanies (God appearing to man in some shape of form)

b. Dreams and visions (Numbers 12:6)

c. Direct contacts (Numbers 22:9; 23:4; Exodus 33:11)

d. Miracles and signs

e. The Prophets

BUT the nice thing is that we have these recorded for us in the Word of God! So read on! :)

Brief comparison of the biblical concepts:

I believe Pache's comment is accurate and trustworthy, "The revelation given in nature [general revelation] is insufficient. It does allow us a glimpse of the power, providence and eternality of God; but it fails to present clearly His person, His holiness, His righteousness and--above all--His redeeming love and everlasting purposes for us" (Rene Pache, The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture, pg. 16).

Therefore, you cannot be saved by General Revelation alone. Though someone can believe that God exists through seeing and observing creation, they still cannot be saved because they haven't heard and believed in what the Bible says about Christ dying for their sins, making them right with their mighty Creator God.

"The Bible may be regarded as completing the intended divine revelation of God partially revealed in nature, more fully revealed in Christ, and completely revealed in the written Word." Praise God for the fullness of His revelation to us! We are not left short-handed, or with partial information about Him!

Its kind of like inside information in the investment world. When you get "specific" information from someone on the inside who works for Apple, and they say that a new product is being released in January 2011, then you should put your stock in Apple before it comes out. You have an advantage because you know information that the "general" public and other investors do not know.

God has revealed Himself specially through His Word that we might gain insight into how we can be saved--through Christ and Christ alone. The one who has never heard the gospel is still in the dark, until they are reached with the preaching of the gospel. Listen to Paul...

Romans 15:20–21 says, "and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,

“Those who have never been told of him will see,

and those who have never heard will understand.”

How can we be holy?

This morning's message at The Master's Seminary chapel was delivered by Dr. Bill Barrick on "Sanctification: The Work of the Holy Spirit and Scripture."

To answer his question, "How can we be holy?" he answers from Scripture:

1. The Initial Sanctification

First Corinthians 6:11 says, "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

First, remember that you were made completely and perfectly holy by the regeneration of your soul and the washing of the stains of your sins. In Christ, we have been positioned as holy before our holy God. That should ALWAYS motivate you to become holy out of the gratefulness of your heart.

2. The Exhortation of Sanctification

Second Corinthians 7:1 says, "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."

Since you are clean (number 1 above), therefore be clean! We have the promises of God to bring us out of every defilement of body and spirit. We have been exhorted to purge out that which is inconsistent with our holy calling.

3. The Imperative of Sanctification

Hebrews 12:14 says, "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."

We are to strive for holiness, making it our ambition to seek a holy life. Can it be observed of your life that you strive for or pursue holiness?

4. The Process of Sanctification

Second Corinthians 3:18 says, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

Be assured of this, that becoming holy like Christ is a process. You won't be done with all former sins in four minutes. You won't walk through temptations like they never phase you. You are a "work in process." God has so wisely and wonderfully designed in His Word that you may be forgiven as you repent of your sin, that you'd be shown grace when broken over your sin, and that you'd be shown mercy when you are feeling like a failure. God is patient. Endure the process, for it is God who began a good work in your and He will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6).

So go. Be holy, as He is holy.