Mark Those Observations!

I have been teaching through the Gospel of Mark on Friday nights for the college ministry for a couple of years now. My Expository Preaching professor, Dr. Ardavanis, is also preaching through the Gospel of Mark in his church at Placerita Baptist in Santa Clarita. One of the joys of my preaching class, which has also become a source of personal embarrassment at times, is hearing how he has preached through the sections of Mark and what the propositional statements were for his texts when I didn't necessarily see them that clearly. For instance,

1. The "Compassionate Goodness of Christ" is NOT the main point of Mark 7:31–37, in which Jesus heals a deaf man.

2. "Christ's Compassion and Miraculous Provision" are definitely aspects of Mark 8:1–10, but NOT the main point to emphasize, which I also did.

3. I generally have been teaching each paragraph, or section of thought, observing Who Christ is, what He has said/done, and how people respond to His actions. They make for great little devotions, but seem--to me now--to have been missing something that unified them all.

One of the greatest mistakes I feel like I have made is teaching through the Gospel of Mark, without the overarching theme of the whole book, and the major theme of the larger sections of Mark's writing.

For instance, 1:1 says, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." THIS is the purpose statement of the book of Mark. Therefore, my steady appeal to those who hear my messages should be something along the lines of "This is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and here in this passage it is clear that He is the Son of God. Will you receive Him by faith and follow after Him?"

Also, if you look closely you will find the theme of Jesus' authority threaded in and out of the context of chapters 1–8. You will see His authority over sickness, Satan, demonic possession, forgiveness of sins, creation, sickness, death and disbelief. Surely Mark comes out strong in his Gospel providing evidence for the authority that Jesus Christ has as the Son of God.

And, if you look to the next large context of Mark, you will find an "inclusio," which is a body of thought inclosed with one main purpose. The inclusio spans from chapters 8 to 10. On either end of the body of thought, there are two similar miracles performed by Jesus that function as the passage's "book ends." At the center of these three chapters lies the three different foretellings of the death, burial and resurrection of the Son of Man. Not only that hard news to hear for the 12, but also a model for the way in which they would live following after Him--if you are to follow Him, you are to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him. If you are to follow Him, then forsake it all to find it all in Him. If you are to follow Him, you will not be ashamed of Him in this adulterous and sinful generation. If you are to follow Him, you will be last of all and servant of all. If you are to follow Him, you must be servant, slave, and sacrificially selfless to all. These are the terms or requisites of authentic discipleship.

What is interesting in the first bookend, when Jesus heals the blind man at Bethsaida, is that He heals him in two phases. Why? It was not because Jesus was warming up and improving or practicing on him. It was not that anything was limiting Him from healing this man's blindness. It WAS an illustration for the doubting disciples for them to have the eyes of their hearts opened to the truth of who Jesus really is. In 8:17, 18, and 21 say, "Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?...Do you not yet understand?"

And what is unique about the second healing of Jesus restoring sight to blind Bartimaeus, is that He does it without touching him. Just the commendation of Bart's faith and the power of Christ would suffice. For Bart had seen/believed something about Jesus that others were slow and partially blind to see about Him--"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Bart got it right! He knew that this man was the promised Messiah through the line of David! And it was his undivided faith that healed him.

So lesson learned: Preach the biblical text propositionally with the support, flow and force of the context.

Can You Become a Leader?

I came across a powerful set of questions in J. Oswald Sanders' book on leadership, Spiritual Leadership, which are worth considering for your own relationships with one another:

1. Do other people's failures annoy or challenge you?

2. Do you "use" people, or cultivate people?

3. Do you direct people, or develop people?

4. Do you criticize, or encourage?

5. Do you shun or seek out the person with a special need or problem?

These are pretty penetrating tests of our leadership potential. Spend some time thinking through which way you lean in each of these questions in each of your relationships.

A Verse of Encouragement

Lately I have been feeling pretty weak physically and at times it can really wear on me. I know that there are plenty of people at Valley who are going through the sickness season, and there are many others who are experiencing affliction in various ways, perplexing times, and even persecution for standing up for Christ. So here is a verse to encourage you in the midst of your weakness.

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Cor 4:7).

The surpassing power of God is what gets us through each trial and hardship, and that power is not of own doing or striving. May God receive glory in our "inglorious" days. And may our minds and lips be full of praise to God for His surpassing power demonstrated in our weakness, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh (v. 11).

I'd love to be able to say, "I'd rather be sick and know the power of God, than to be healthy and feel like I don't need God's power." Unfortunately, I have a lot of maturing to go until I get there!

Does God forgive us when we don't confess our sin?

I was asked this question recently and thought that it would be profitable to include the discussion in our blog. "Does God forgive us when we don't confess our sin? Like if we never admitted we sinned, does he forgive us for that by his grace?" Whenever the answer doesn't seem screamingly clear to me, I just start by reinforcing biblical truths that I know are in place first, and then view the question in my fresh understanding of those other concrete truths. For instance...

1. Forgiven are those who fear the LORD

Psalm 103:11–13 says, "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him."

One would not know where to start when trying to measure the distance "the east is from the west." This shows the extent and effectiveness of His perfect forgiveness. Do you think about this truth when you feel guilt from things you have done in your past? Do you think on this truth when you slightly fall back into past sins that you once felt such immense guilt about? Do you think on this truth when you are caught up in sin from day to day?

Note: There is no sign of taking advantage of God's gracious and complete forgiveness here, as if we can just walk up to this truth and say, "I have sinned. You say you will forgive me entirely. So I will go on living like I always have because you never count it against me." NO! "The LORD is great in his steadfast love and shows compassion to those who fear him."

Too often we don't walk in the fear of the LORD. We must recognize that if it weren't for the compassionate mercy and gracious forgiveness of the LORD, then we would stand condemned for the whole of our lives AND into the next, experiencing the totality and severity of God righteous and indignant wrath for sinful rebellion against Him. And turning away from Him and choosing a life of sinfulness should cause us to tremble in fear.

Romans 6:1, 2 (along with Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 2:16; Jude 7) say, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" Let us not "pervert the grace of God," but "walk in newness of life," "using our freedom to serve God and man."

2. Blessed are the forgiven by the LORD

Psalm 32:1–2 says, "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgive, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit".

Not knowing if you are forgiven for sins is no way to live. Trying to conceal your sin, covering it up and justifying your sinful thoughts or actions is really a decaying process for your soul--"For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of the summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin" (32:3–5).

If you know that you've sinned and you feel guilty because you've broken God's holy standard, then you only have two choices--try to cover it up yourself or be covered by God. David here is expressing the anguish and turmoil of what it is like to attempt to cover it up himself. This is no way to live! It only leads to death (2 Cor 7:10).

So David's advice is "Let everyone who is godly offer prayer to You at a time when You may be found...You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with shouts of deliverance" (Ps 32:6–7).

Because let's be honest, "Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart" (32:10–11)! THIS is the way to live--to be covered by the steadfast love of the LORD. Trust Him, seek His forgiveness for all the sin He is making known to you, and rejoice for you know you are clean!

3. Sanctified are those who are holy in the LORD

When talking about forgiveness in the life of a believer, we are really talking about the process of becoming more holy--sanctified. Putting off that which is in accordance to our old nature and putting on that which pertains to our new nature in Christ Jesus (Col 3:1–17; Eph 4:17–32; Rom 6; 1 Thes 4:3–8). The key doctrines of our faith are often referred to as "Doctrines of Grace," namely Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification in the life of every believer. It is very important in getting each of these understood biblically so that you don't get mixed up and confuse them with each other. And with a healthy understanding of the doctrines of grace, you will be able to understand best what God is doing in the life of one who has been called His child.

By God's grace you are positionally forgiven (justification) for all of your sins--past, present and future (John 1:29). But progressively (in sanctification) you are called to ask forgiveness for your sins as you see them and ask the LORD to search them out. For instance: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). That is a conditional clause. Meaning that if we confess, He will forgive. And if we don't confess our sin, then why should He forgive us? And Psalms 139:23, 24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" So it is our responsibility as holy and beloved children of God (He adopted us) to make it a habit of seeking forgiveness and confessing sin.

However, this DOES NOT mean that you are any less saved or forgiven positionally if you don't ask forgiveness for your sins (in progressive holiness) here or there. If you make a habit of not confessing sin, or just confessing it because those around you are, or because you were just told to from a young age, then it may evidence that salvation was not genuine in the first place.

BUT what it MAY mean is that if you are aware of sin in your life and you DO NOT ask for forgiveness, then you surely will not be as close to God as you could and as He desires. Why do we not feel as close to God as we ought? Because of our disobedience--our choosing of the power and presence of sin rather than the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. For example, if I continually did contrary to my wife's desires, then of course we would not feel close to one another. We are still in a relationship until the Lord ends it, but within the context of our relationship we could be closer if I did as she pleased and vice-a-versa. Though you are covered by His perfect and efficacious grace, He still longs for you to repent of your sin until you no longer sin (perfect holiness and communion with Him in heaven--Yea!). "You shall be holy, for I am holy," (1 Pet 1:16) must be taken to mean our progressive holiness, being made more and more into the likeness of Christ (Rom 8:29).

AND actually, because He has forgiven you perfectly and hidden you in Christ's clean and perfect righteousness that can NEVER be taken away, this is to be a MOTIVATION for you to want to seek forgiveness for the sins that you see pop up in your life on a regular basis. The less you appreciate and believe what He has accomplished for you at the cross, the less you will strive to become holy like He is.

No, we will never know the full extent of our sins. But we are sure that whatever they total in number and in grievousness to God, He has forgiven us of them all. So because of this, may we walk in obedience and seek closeness to our loving, forgiving Father Who cannot dwell with darkness (You gotta read 2 Cor 6:14–7:1!).

For an example, the "Puritans"--a group of believers alive during the early establishment of the church in America--were radically committed to integrating the doctrines of grace into real life. If you read their prayers that have been recorded in works like Valley of Vision or other Puritan works and biographies, they would often pray that they would be forgiven of the entirety of their sin, especially the sin they were not even yet aware of. They knew that God's holiness so far exceeded their own to where it made them broken about the fact that they still had the residual effects of sin in their fleshly bodies.

So to return to the question: "Does God forgive us when we don't confess our sin? Like if we never admitted we sinned, does he forgive us for that by his grace?"

I would say that the simple answer is this--Yes and No:). He DOES forgive us of all our sin in a general sense no matter what we have done (He doesn't hold anything against His children as if they were still children of wrath). BUT He DOESN'T forgive us until we've confessed specifically to our wrong doing. If we are born-again and don't know or care about how our sin offends God, then that would seem like we aren't repentant of it and that we aren't turning to the Lord in closer communion with Him and obedience to Him. So just because He has forgiven us all our sin (even the sin of not confessing our sin!), this doesn't give us an excuse or pass to overlook past or present sins and not deal with them according to God's Word.

So confess your sin as soon as He makes you are aware of it (no matter how long ago it was). Confess to the LORD also that you are prone to wander and feeble and frail (sinning and falling short of His glory every day in many and different ways). And fear the LORD knowing that out of His steadfast love and faithful kindness He forgives us of all our sins. This should align our will with His and restore us to close communion with Him.

Tell the Truth

I am reading a great book--highly recommendable--entitled Tell the Truth (subtitled: "The Whole Gospel to the Whole Person by Whole People") by Will Metzger. In his chapter, How to Communicate Personally, he quotes these lyrics at the end of the book:

O Breath of Life, come sweeping through us,

Revive Thy Church with life and power;

O Breath of Life, come, cleanse, renew us,

And fit Thy Church to meet this hour.

O Wind of God, come bend us, break us,

Till humbly we confess our need;

Then in Thy tenderness remake us,

Revive, restore; for this we plead.

O Breath of Love, come breathe within us,

Renewing thought and will and heart:

Come, Love of Christ, afresh to win us,

Revive Thy Church in every part.

Revive us, Lord! Is zeal abating

While harvest fields are vast and white?

Revive us, Lord, the world is waiting,

Equip Thy Church to spread the light.

Lyrics by Bessie Porter Head, titled "O Breath of Life," 1914.

Good Luck or God Reigns?

How lucky are you? Do you even believe in luck? How many times a day do you think, hear, or say something involving luck or good fortune?

In the book of Ruth, we find a handful of theologically profound and practically rich themes:

1. The Sovereignty/Providence of God

2. Kindness in the Community of the Redeemed

3. Redemption that Looks forward to Christ

4. Salvation for Gentile Believers Only Through the God of Israel

5. Preserving the Royal Blood Line for the Messiah

The writer of Ruth uses certain terms, careful words, in Ruth 2:3 to show the hand of the LORD in the events of the historical narrative ("everyday life" for the people in the story of Ruth). This narrative really helps us understand the theme of the Providence of God better. To get first things first, chapter 1 highlights that the story was not heading in the best direction (death, bereavement, loss, famine, moral decline in leadership, no rest, no security, bitterness, etc.), or so it seemed. Ruth goes to work in the fields and "she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz," her close relative and kinsmen redeemer (2:1, 20; 3:9, 12; 4:4, 9, 10). This was not to her knowledge at all, but it was surely in God's! So I ask you, do we call this luck? Did Ruth stumble across Boaz's path "as chance would have it?" At this point it would be helpful to include a helpful and concise definition of God's Providence:

One definition: “God’s providence is His constant care for and His absolute rule over all His creation for His own glory and the good of His people.” As used in Trusting God, by Jerry Bridges.

One challenge: When you find yourself thinking or saying to someone else, "Good Luck," or "Take Luck" (if you are a Bryan Reagan fanatic;), consider for a moment the sovereignty of God and His providential rule and care over all His creation. Could you possibly insert "God Reigns" in your thoughts or speech, rather than attributing something positive to the lesser deity of "Luck"?

One example: When someone tells you, "Good luck on your exam today!" You might think to yourself, "Well, God reigns. Either way, if I fail it, ace it, get an average grade, brake my leg on the way to the test, the test is postponed, different material is on the test than you covered, etc. God Reigns! He is in absolute control. He constantly cares for you. He has His purposes in mind, so trust Him."

One caveat: Obviously we have a responsibility to "work out [not for] our salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12) before the Sovereign Lord. We are not to put the LORD our God to the test (Deut 6:16) or take His grace for granted (Rom 6:1).

Fall 2009 College Ministry Schedule

ROCK Group Fall 2009

A College Ministry of VBC

September

4^th ROCK Group

5^th “Hangtime” Begins

11^th CORE Group Meeting

ROCK Group

18^th Leaders Meeting

ROCK Group

19^th “Closer” (all Growth Group Event at VBC)

25^th CORE Group Meeting

ROCK Group

26^th “GO” to Santa Monica Day (Sat)

27^th ROCK Group Luncheon After Church

October

2^nd-3^rd “Creation Weekend”

9^th CORE Group Meeting

ROCK Group

16^th Leaders Meeting

ROCK Group

17^th Pumpkin Pickin’ at Lombardi Ranch (Sat)

23^rd-25^th WOMEN’S RETREAT

23^rd Guys’ Night

25^th ROCK Group Luncheon After Church

30^th ROCK Group

31^st Trunk ‘R Treat at VBC (Sat)

November

6^th CORE Group Meeting

ROCK Group

13^th ROCK Group

20^th Leaders Meeting

ROCK Group

26^th Turkey Bowl (Thanksgiving Day)

27^th ROCK Group

29^th ROCK Group Luncheon After Church

December

4^th CORE Group Meeting

ROCK Group

11^th Leaders Meeting

ROCK Group

12^th ROCKn’ SnL Christmas Party (Sat)

18^th ROCK Group

22^nd and 24^th Park Days

25^th Christmas (No ROCK Group)

27^th ROCK Group Luncheon After Church

31^st-3^rd WINTER RETREAT

-“ROCK Group” is our weekly Bible study Friday nights @ 7pm @ the Moes’ house (722-1844).

-“CORE Group” is at Kyle and Kathy Jenisons’.

-“Hangtime” is at the Baloghs’ (947-9748) every Saturday night at 8pm during the school year.