I know, some of my readers will have read a headline like that and panicked. Has Warnie slipped into “Health wealth and prosperity” or “Word of Faith” ?

Nope, not at all.

But I do feel that it is so easy for us to throw out the baby with the bathwater. I remember at one point a few years ago I even began to wonder if we would be better off to stop talking about faith. Perhaps, I argued, we should simply talk about “trust” in God.

Trust is a much more passive thing, and it is a component of faith.

But God says it is faith that pleases him.

Full blooded, rip-roaring Faith with a capital F. Faith that propels us to take risk. Faith that is relentlessly full of positivity and hope.

Faith that dares to believe that Romans 8:28 is true, quite literally. God is structuring the entire universe for the good of those who love him.

Me and you.

Wow!

Shouldn’t that thought thrill us. Why then do we settle for a weak, passive faith that is basically no different from fatalism all too often.

Can I guarantee you will be healed? No

Am I saying that God will give you all the stuff you lust after?

Of course not.

But only because if he did, it wouldn’t be good for you!

He really, truly wants your good. He longs to bless you, to make you a demonstration of his undeserved favor.

Oh, and if you follow his principles and walk with him, guess what, the concept of a “lift” is often right. There are many things he will teach you, that just might make you a better candidate for that promotion at work.

But the first thing he will teach you, is to die to selfish ambition. The irony is, that very first lesson, to put others needs before your own, could be the very key to unlock doors for you.

Basically, although Jesus promise that those who are last will be first, and those who try to save their life will lose it, are both perfectly fulfilled in the next age, they are principles that often work out in the here and now.

Don’t seek your comfort, seek the Kindgom. But, it was Jesus himself who promised that if we did so he would give us “all good things.” (Matthew 6:33)

Christians in the West are often quite good at trusting in God as our rock. We are taught doctrine, told that God is sovereign. We are taught that he stands behind every event that happens and is working for our good (Romans 8:28). Even when other people do things to us from a bad motive, we may respond like Joseph and say “you meant that for my harm, but God meant it for good.”

God, we learn, is unmovable. He is like a fortress we can hide in. He is unshakeable and faithful. “Ascribe greatness to our God the rock, his work is perfect and all his ways are just, a God of faithfulness and without injustice, good and upright is he!” (Deuteronomy 32:3-4).

God is so dependable that even “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself”(2 Tim 2:13) . He is unshakeable, nothing can move him. Theologians talk about his impassibility. When the nations rebel against him, the one enthroned in heaven laughs (Psalm 2).

And yet. The one who we have said cannot be moved, can in fact be moved. This is no contradiction. How then can you move the immovable?

Faith in the dependable God we have been talking about could be called resting or passive faith. It is peaceful, stilling our hearts, and determining to trust God in the midst of the storm.

There is, however, another kind of faith that we in the West are generally not so familiar with. This is active faith, and this is what moves God. When Jesus met Lazarus’ sisters, he was moved to compassion and provoked by their sorrow, but also by their faith. Active faith lays ahold of Gods promises and cries out to him to fulfil them. Paul speaks of how Elijah appeals to God (Romans 11:2). Daring to believe God and urging him to act turns Gods heart towards us.

2 Chronicles 33:13 tells us that Manasseh “prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea.”

Jesus is often described in the gospels as being “moved with compassion” when people entreated him, and as a result he healed them.

Passive faith relies on God as the immovable dependable rock on which we can stand. Active faith causes us to appeal to Gods sense of compassion, justice, mercy, and righteousness. He is able to be moved. He wants us to step out and dare to ask him to act.

There are some who seem to focus so much on asking God for things, that the undergirding trust in his faithfulness is apparently absent. But if we only focus on him as the sovereign immovable king we are in just as precarious a position. To deny Gods power and become fatalistic is not glorifying his name. We need both of these kinds of faith and we need the God who is both movable and immovable.

The ideas in this post came out of a conversation I had with my very wise and insightful wife this afternoon. I pray it will be encouraging to many of you.

Love is not some insipid woolly emotion offered to everyone in the same way irrespective of their response. Love is passionate. Infinite love is infinitely passionate.
God’s love has content.

He truly cares about us, and more than that he truly cares about the honor of his name and the glory of the trinity. God’s love is primarily turned towards himself as the most lovable being in the universe. For all eternity the Father loves and is satisfied in the Son, the Son loves and is satisfied in the Father. They both love and are satisfied in the Holy Spirit, and he also loves and is satisfied in them. Such love in such a holy being is also the source of wrath.

Imagine if you will that someone you love dearly is murdered. It is right and appropriate that you would feel anger. It is understandable that you would seek justice. As a believer that very impulse must be tempered, however, by the instruction to leave the due repaying to the one infinitely more wronged. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19). We turn our wrath away by the sure and certain knowledge that someone else is wrathful on our behalf.

As finite beings, there is so much sin in this world that if we allowed ourselves to be wrathful at it, anger would consume us and there would be nothing left. Bitterness does precisely this to man.

But God is not carelessly indifferent as some imagine him to be. God’s anger burns with a holy fire precisely because he loves. It is not that love and anger are set against each other, and that somewhere in the middle a lukewarm God is forged. No, God is wrathful because it hurts him to see the destruction sin has wrought in the ones he loves.

We must not think that God loves us any less because he hates the sin that is determined to destroy us. If he didn’t hate the sin, it would be like someone gazing indifferently as their loved one was murdered.

He is angry because sin corrupts the world he cares for. He is angry because sin warps the way people see him. He is angry because the honor of the God he loves is trampled in the dust. His love for us, and his love for himself requires him to act. He is angry because holiness and justice, being in his very nature, must be vindicated or he would no longer be God. He cannot simply overlook sin and remain God. Or not the same God he has always been, anyway.

The whole argument of Romans is that God is faced with a dilemma. How can he be just and the one that forgives sins? It is only in the cross that a solution to this is found. It is not that Jesus saves us from an angry God. He himself is angry at sin. He is both the refuge and the one from which we must run. He chooses to offer us a way out. Then he warns us, that since this is the only way out, if we trample all over the offer, there is nothing left for us but wrath.

“Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
(Psalm 2:11-12)

It is astonishing that at the heart of the Christian message of good news lies a death. Of course this good news is only so because of the resurrection, as I argue in my book, but today lets remember the horror of the cross, and how that very shocking nature of the death of our Lord, compels us to pay attention:

Mark Driscoll writes,

The curious paradox of the atoning death of a bloody Jesus rising above the plane of human history with a mocking crown of thorns is that he is offensive in an attractive way. It is the utter horror of the cross that cuts through the chatter, noise, and nonsense of our day to rivet our attention, shut our mouths, and compel us to listen to an impassioned dying man who is crying out for the forgiveness of our sins and to ask why he suffered. Tragically, if we lose the offense of the cross, we also lose the attraction of the cross so that no one is compelled to look at Jesus. Therefore, Jesus does not need a marketing firm or a makeover as much as a prophet to preach the horror of the cross unashamedly. (Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, 33, emphasis added)

Now that Rob Bell’s controversial book Love Wins is on sale on both sides of the Atlantic and many other comments have been made, I am feeling like I cannot avoid engaging in the controversy, or at least should read some more material to understand it better. I did not seek out such involvement, as you can see from my post which ironically listed Five Reasons I hadn’t previously blogged about Rob Bell. Since then I have posted a couple of highly relevant articles without directly addressing Bell’s work.  These are:

• Why a belief in hell is so practically important (John Piper)
• The folly of imagining hell is not real and sin is not deadly (Charles Spurgeon)
• Mark Driscoll’s sermon on hell taken from the Rich Man and Lazarus.
• Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the folly of thinking God is only love.

I have now found a very helpful round up post on Gary David Stratton’s blog that lists some of the major posts on each side of this vociferous debate. He says that over 400,000 responses are now available online, so reading every post is clearly not an option! I have been following some of the posts he lists, and have finally succumbed and am in the process of reading the book. If you have been following things more closely, and there are critical posts you think I should read that are not on Stratton’s list, please let me know. There is one additional page that I have found to be interesting, a transcript of an interview by Lisa Miller with Rob Bell.

Finally, also in Stratton’s blog is a suggestion that we should use the Apostle Paul’s blogging checklist. I have adapted this somewhat from his version, which he took from 1 Corinthians 13.  I commend this list as we consider blogging about this issue or others. For not every blog post on either side of this debate has kept within these wise boundaries. So, before you hit send, grade yourself on this list:

Is this blog post I am about to publish

1. Demonstrating patience towards those who disagree with me?
2. Kind in its tone and content? Would my “enemies” agree?
3. Free from envy in it’s motivation? Rather than secretly wishing I was as popular as the person I am condemning?
4. Full of humility and not boasting? Rather than implying I have all the answers and the monopoly on the truth?
5. Wanting others to do well and highlighting good comments elsewhere rather than arrogantly seeking more hits for my blog?
6. Polite and not rude?
7. Not insisting on my own way? Have I acknowledged that there is a chance, however small, that I might be wrong about this?
8. Calm and not irritable?
9. Avoiding even the hint of sounding resentful?
10. Rejoicing with the truth, rather than taking joy from pointing out others error? Have I struck back at those who have been hurtful to me or brushed over and endured any perceived wrongs from them, have I thought the best of others?

If you cannot honestly answer yes to all of these bold questions, it is time to save the draft, pray, go and make yourself a cup of tea, and come back to re-edit the post later. There is a time for boldly speaking the truth.  But we must always do so in love. The above checklist is demanding.  It requires careful examination of our hearts.  We will all no doubt fail at times to follow it fully.  I know I have.

Fortunately there is grace for us, as well as opportunities for public repentance when needed!  I believe that none of us can have the insight into our own sinful hearts to fully achieve such high standards on our own. I do thank God that I have people who watch over both my soul and this blog and are not afraid to point out when they feel I have erred.  I trust that you also have those who can help you to follow Jesus online.  May God help me, and each of you to blog as Christ would want us to, and to treat others online as we would want to be treated.  Those of us that love grace must be sure to demonstrate it to others.

In a recent sermon on Heaven and Hell based on the shocking parable of the Rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16. Driscoll was at his pastoral and passionate best. His love for his hearers, and desire to warn them of important truth is very clearly seen in this talk. I think it is one of his best sermons. He speaks about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and how between heaven and hell, “a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass . . may not be able, and none may cross.”

You have to ask yourself, do you agree with Jesus Christ on this subject?

I urge you to follow the link and read, hear or watch the sermon, or at least see the following clip which addresses a very topical question. It is important you know where you stand on this matter:

“The sinner is a fool, because he is told in God’s word that the path of evil will lead to destruction, and yet he pursues it with the secret hope that in his case the damage will not be very great. He has been warned that sin is like a cup frothing with a foam of sweetness, but concealing death and hell in its dregs; yet each sinner, as he takes the cup, fascinated by the first drop, believes, that to him, the poisonous draught will not be fatal. How many have fondly hoped that God would lie unto men, and would not fulfill his threatenings!

Yet, be assured, every sin shall have its recompense of reward; God is just and will by no means spare the guilty. Even in this life many are feeling in their bones the consequences of their youthful lusts; they will carry to their graves the scars of their transgressions. In hell, alas, there are millions who for ever prove that sin is an awful and an undying evil, an infinite curse which hath destroyed them for ever and ever. The sinner is a fool, because, while he doubts the truthfulness of God, as to the punishment of sin, he has the conceit to imagine that transgression will even yield him pleasure. God saith it shall be bitterness: the sinner denies the bitterness, and affirms that it shall be sweetness.

O fool to seek pleasure in sin! Go rake the charnel to find an immortal soul; go walk into the secret springs of the sea to find the source of flame. It is not there. Thou canst never find bliss in rebellion. Hundreds of thousands before thee have gone upon this search and have all been disappointed; he is indeed a fool who must needs rush headlong in this useless chase, and perish as the result. The sinner is a fool—a great fool—to remain as he is in danger of the wrath of God. To abide at ease in imminent peril and scorn the way of escape, to love the world and loathe the Saviour, to set the present fleeting life above the eternal future, to choose the sand of the desert and forego the jewels of heaven; all this is folly, in the highest conceivable degree.”

C. H. Spurgeon, The Sword and Trowel: 1871 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), 78-79.

As Japan braces itself for a possible further serious earthquake, and deals with the consequences of such massive devastation caused by the last one, not to mention the risk of a major nuclear incident, how should Christians respond? Please understand that none of this is intended to claim that we have all the answers to such a disaster. In fact, like Job’s friends’ initial response, often the best thing we can do is say absolutely nothing, and share people’s pain.

I write this article with many unanswered questions. But, unlike those who allow suffering to drive them away from God, I am convinced that only God makes sense of suffering. For if the Japanese who died really were just the random fruit of evolution, why should it matter to us if they died? But if each of them are made in the image of their creator, and lovingly crafted together in their mother’s womb, our inherent feeling that suffering is NOT welcome in this world makes perfect sense. God loves every human being, they are precious to him.

1. We should not be surprised. We like to imagine that we are safe in the world.  The truth is that, like what may well be tens of thousands of Japanese who have drowned, we will all die one day.  Whenever that day comes, it will feel to us just as sudden, just as unwanted, and just as shocking.  But despite our trying to pretend otherwise, we are not immortal, and there is no guarantee that we will live to a ripe old age (Hebrews 9:27).
2. We should be humbled before the awesome power of “Nature,” which is actually the creation of a sovereign and awesome God whose power is greater than 10,000 tsunamis (Job 38:1-41). These scenes quite rightly should take our breath away, and make us realize how foolish our pride truly is.  We came from the dust and will one day return to that same dust.
3. We should not assume that the end is at hand. Yes, there do seem to be a lot of natural disasters lately.  Yes, Jesus did predict such things. But he also told us not to be alarmed, and there have been many such natural disasters over the centuries.  We do not know when Christ will return, but have a task to do in “speeding” his coming. (Mark 13:7-8, 2 Peter 3:12)
4. We should not assume that the end is not at hand. A disaster like this should remind us that Jesus said he will come like a thief in the night when we are least expecting it.  (1 Thessalonians 5:1-8)
5. We should not specifically blame the Japanese. There is a tendency to quickly jump to judgment in some evangelical circles. Perhaps this is because we secretly believe that because of our so-called righteous living we have made a deal with God that will protect us in this world from early death and other disasters. If we can therefore persuade ourselves that the Japanese somehow brought this on themselves, our delusion remains intact. The Bible knows nothing of such thinking, at least in the vast majority of occasions. There are a few biblical situations where natural disasters were the specific judgment of God. But these were rare, and God always ensured people knew about it by a proclamation from his infallible prophets. What seems to be far more common is the idea that God sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45), and that accidents do not tell us that their victims were more sinful than us, but that we all deserve death just the same (Luke 13:1-5).  See for example these two quotes:
   

   “As I look for a moment upon the poor mangled bodies of those who have been so suddenly slain, my eyes find tears, but my heart does not boast, nor my lips accuse — far from me be the boastful cry, “God, I thank thee that I am not as these men are!” Nay, nay, nay, it is not the spirit of Christ, nor the spirit of Christianity. While we can thank God that we are preserved, yet we can say, “It is of thy mercy that we are not consumed,” and we must ascribe it to his grace, and to his grace alone. But we cannot suppose that there was any betterness in us, why we should be kept alive with death so near.” Charles H. Spurgeon, vol. 7, Sermon 408.

   “You see what a horrible end those people came to; they didn’t think it was going to happen. O they knew they were going to die someday; but they didn’t know what that would mean. The horror of their end took them by surprise. Well unless you repent, that is the way it is going to be for you. Your end will be far more horrible than you think it is. You will not be ready for it. It will surprise you terribly. In that sense you will LIKEWISE perish.” John Piper

6. We should not blame God, but we should pray. We believe in a Sovereign God. But we must not make him out to be the author of sin (James 1:13). God knew the earthquake was coming (Isaiah 46:9-10), could have stopped it and didn’t, and as per Romans 8:28 will work this out like everything else for his glory and for the good of those who love him. He will also use it to awaken fear in hearts, so that the gospel can then bring peace and salvation (Luke 13:1-5). But that is a very different thing from making God the pleased creator of this event. Some assume that choosing not to stop something is the same as initiating that event. I do not believe that is so. We must not curse God, or charge him with wrongdoing (Job 1:22).  But we must pray and ask God to limit the pain these terrible events have caused, and to use them so that many might turn to him.
7. We should understand that suffering is in the world because of sin in a general sense. Death entered the world because of human sin. (Romans 5:12)  Because our forefather sinned, and because we go on sinning, the world has been subjected to a law of decay (Romans 8:20-24). We live in a fallen world. In a fallen world many things are broken and do not work as God intended them to originally. Thus humankind’s sin, rather than Japanese sin, is responsible for this disaster.
8. We must not assume that the devil “won” this time. God was not asleep. Satan is indeed described as the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4), and is therefore in some senses responsible for disasters. However, he does not have a free hand. He is prowling around seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). But, as in the case of Job, God is perfectly capable of preventing his actions, and does indeed put a limit on them. If Satan was free to do whatever he wanted in this world, we can rest assured there would be far more disaster than there is now. He is after all a murderer (John 8:44). We are right to be angry at the effects of all this death and destruction that he causes, but not right to ascribe to him more power than we ought! Anger is in short a natural response to such suffering, but should not be directed at God.
9. We should look forward to the day when there will be no more pain. The very fact that suffering feels so wrong should point us to the fact it was not part of God’s original plan, nor is it part of his glorious fulfillment. One day there will be no more sea to destroy lives and separate loved ones. (Revelation 21:3-4).  What a glorious day! We should long for it more and more as our TV sets bring such devastation into our living rooms.
10. We should share the glorious gospel of Jesus that brings us hope and work to relieve suffering.  The temporary nature of life should prompt us, if we have any compassion at all, to be looking for opportunities to talk about our Savior.  In addition, and as a vital part of our outreach, some of us should consider giving to the specific relief funds being set up to help Japan.  But all of us should look for ways to relieve suffering far from where we live, and also on our doorstep.  We are called to “remember the poor” (Galatians 2:10) and demonstrate the love of Jesus with the word of the gospel, and the deed of alleviating pain.  We cannot and should not turn aside like the good priest, but instead should spend ourselves as the good Samaritan did, all the time pointing to the One who, with limitless resources, gave himself that we might all live.

Here are some extracts from a further video about how grace has shaped Terry Virgo’s ministry:

“What we are looking for in our churches is that there is a whole ethos of grace, and acceptance, that we are delighted in by God. . . It is not to make it casual or lazy. . .We accept one another but we also admonish one another . . . In Peter it says you have everything you need for life and godliness, then it says “make every effort.” . . Genuine biblical grace does not produce passivity . . . there are things we need to do for ourselves in response to grace.

Let the word speak into our hearts. . . make it your gospel. . . make it live, get hold of it in your heart.

I hope you have been following along with Terry’s very helpful series of short interviews on the values that have driven his ministry for decades. If not, do visit his site and catch up on them. I have fallen a bit behind, so I will devote this week to us catching up. Here are some extracts from this video:

“I’ve preached the message of grace again and again in all kinds of different contests and watching people coming into that liberty is such a joy. Sometimes it’s very dramatic to see lives totally transformed by understanding someone come into consequences. It’s like you have to preach the gospel to yourself all the time. In my morning devotions, I continually thank God for his grace and sing songs about his grace . . . I keep it very much as the centerpiece of my fellowship with God. I know I am not worthy . . . so I am forever thanking God for his extraordinary kindness . . . its free for us, but it cost Jesus everything. . . We need to constantly remind ourselves of how accepted we are, how God delights in us.”

Terry goes on to explain that he believes it is a big mistake to start our prayer time with confession. Instead, we should start from “Our Father” and “hallowed be your name”

This is the second of Terry’s videos on his value of grace. You know how it goes by now, here is an extract to make you want to watch the whole thing:

“I recall that it was as though I saw a break in the cloud, and saw some blue sky. I suddenly felt that God loves me freely, but it wasn’t enough to establish me, and I quickly went back to are you praying long enough, are you meditating on the Bible long enough, and these so-called “means of grace” became duties you have to fulfill. Am I doing them enough to keep God happy? So they become burdensome rather than means of grace.

I felt God sometimes gave me a glimpse of something freer than that. . .It began to dawn on me. I met people who were enjoying grace . . . I was most helped by working my way through Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Romans, especially 5, 6, and 7. Especially 7, where we are not under law . . . Lots of believers don’t work at the epistles. But to me, the epistles are the heart of the explanation of the New Covenant . . .

Someone recently shared a quote online from my book Raised With Christ. I thought I’d share it with you as a not-too-subtle reminder to consider buying someone a book about Easter this Christmas!

Salvation is not merely a case of believing in something that happened thousands of years ago.  We are not saved by a belief.  We are saved by union with a person.  We cannot separate the propitiatory work of Christ from Christ himself.  We are saved not only by believing the fact that Christ died for our sins, but by union with the crucified and risen, exalted Savior.  Only through union with a living Savior who has in him the virtue of his atoning death do justification, forgiveness, and all the blessings of redemption become ours.  “In him, we have redemption through his blood.” (Ephesians 1:7).”

via Resurrection People- Day 1 « The Grace Showcase.

I love this quote from Piper’s excellent book “What Jesus demands from the World” It really captures in a nutshell what being born again is all about:

When a person is born anew and experiences repentance, his attitude about Jesus changes. Jesus himself becomes the central focus and supreme value of life. Before the new birth happens and repentance occurs, a hundred other things seem more important and more attractive: health, family, job, friends, sports, music, food, sex, hobbies, retirement. But when God gives the radical change of new birth and repentance, Jesus himself becomes our supreme treasure.

His Yoke Is Easy, and His Burden Is Light
Therefore, his demand that we come to him is not burdensome. It means coming to the one who has become everything to us. Jesus did not come into the world mainly to bring a new religion or a new law. He came to offer himself for our eternal enjoyment and to do whatever he had to do—including death—to remove every obstacle to this everlasting joy in him. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11) . . .

Make no mistake, there is a yoke and a burden when we come to Jesus (there would be no demands if this were not true), but the yoke is easy, and the burden
is light.

- John Piper, What Jesus Demands From the World, Page 44

Last Sunday, Jubilee Church London had the real blessing of Ian McCormack visiting us to share his testimony. It truly is a remarkable story of being declared dead, an encounter with Jesus, a dramatic resurrection, and a transformed life. A while ago I had lunch with this man, and a kinder, gentler man I have never met. Many responded to the gospel at the end of this testimony at Jubilee. Only eternity will tell the full effects of this man’s life story which he has told so many times now. Watch it here:

This quote from Terry Virgo is just too good not to share.  Many people fail to appreciate the two very distinct yet crucial sources of comfort to the Christian.  They miss the power that is available to us. They miss the transformation God intends us to experience:

Unbelievers are under the impression that Christians are forced into morality, obey rules and go to church. If they really understood that we’d found the secret of being content they’d wonder where we got it. And they’d queue up outside our churches to find the secret for themselves. Paul’s great claim has been tested through the centuries, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’

It’s about fellowship and communion with Christ. Now we must distinguish between these two different things: first ‘being united with him and declared righteous as a gift’ and second ‘enjoying communion with him’. In his book, ‘Communion with the Triune God’, John Owen speaks about union and communion with Jesus.

First, he says that we are united with Jesus and have received his righteousness for ever and that this is the basis of our relationship with him. Our relationship is never based on how much we’ve enjoyed his fellowship. Sadly, many believers think that if they have a season of remoteness from God, he’s unhappy with them and they end up in condemnation. Jesus is our righteousness for eternity. God poured out his wrath on his Son and we escape. We never move from our righteousness in Christ. Even if we don’t have an extended time of fellowship with him, we can still say, ‘Thank you, Lord. You’re the same yesterday, today and for ever, my righteousness.’ That’s union with Christ.

Second, Owen says that once we have union with Christ, we go on to have communion with him. We talk to him and listen to his voice. We hear him through the Scriptures and sing praises to him for the sheer joy of knowing that he’s our God. This is how we get strengthened with might in our inner being. We have fellowship with Jesus.

Day after day we experience fear, battle, hurts, sickness, wounds, unkindness and perplexity. We didn’t expect what’s happened to us. . How do we get through? ‘Well, pull yourself together!’ No! Our strength comes from Jesus. Isn’t he the Saviour? Doesn’t he save? Fellowship with him!

Salvation is a huge thing. Jesus saved me back in the ‘50s and has been saving me daily ever since. One day he’ll save us when he presents us to himself in glory. But while we’re on earth things will go wrong. And then we’ll need to draw close to Jesus to be daily, continually, repeatedly saved.

READ MORE at Terry Virgos Blog » Blog Archive » Strengthened in the Lord.

Spurgeon argued yesterday that often feelings come before faith, (having previously denied it!).  In today’s quote after carefully reminding us that not every conversion is a “typical” one he goes on to tell us how he feels the typical conversion occurs:

Some men have the light of God; but they cannot tell when the light first came to them. Let none of you imagine that you are not converted because you do not know the hour when it occurred; otherwise, you would be as foolish as I should be if I said to some old lady, “How old are you?” “Well, I am somewhere about eighty.” “But when was your birthday? Do you not remember your birthday?” “No, sir, I do not.” Suppose I were to tell her she was not alive because she did not know her birthday, I should be very foolish; and if you say to yourself, “Soul, you were never born again because you do not know when the event happened,” you will be very foolish, too. If you can say, “One thing I know, whereas I was blind, but now I see,” be satisfied and grateful, even though you cannot tell when the great miracle was wrought. Conversions, then, are not all alike.

Yet, as a usual rule, the work of grace begins in the heart with a time of gloom. Clouds gather; there is a general dampness round about; the soul seems saturated with doubt, fear, dread. There is something coming, but the soul knows not what; it feels that it is very sinful, and deserves whatever punishment God may send. Perhaps some of you are passing through that stage of experience just now. You get sadder and yet more sad every day; and yet you do not quite know why. You used to go to the theater, and you enjoyed it; but you went the other night, and it seemed very dreary to you, as indeed it is. You went off to some gay company, where you used to be very merry; but you seemed quite out of spirits, you could not join in their merriment, you were glad to get home. Something ails you; something ails you. Yes, the clouds are gathering over your head. That is how grace usually begins to work in the soul that God means to save and bless.

After the clouds, in the next place, the rain falls. The real work of the Spirit of God often follows upon an inward depression of spirit. Now you begin really to repent of sin; now are you sorry for the past; now you begin to sigh and cry for Christ. You wish you knew him; you wish you loved him. Tears begin to drop; or if they do not actually fall from your eyes, yet there are inward weepings, and your soul is getting moist now with deep contrition, hatred of sin, dread of God’s anger, the fear of the wrath to come, and a wish to lay hold on eternal life. Now the rains, the blessed rains, have come, and softened your heart. If we were to water all the fields in summer-time, when the sun is shining with a scorching heat, it would be of very little use indeed. An Irish friend of mine once said, that he had carefully noticed that it did not rain when the sun was shining; but that, whenever it rained, there were always some clouds to keep the sunshine off. There is a great truth in what my friend said. Rain becomes doubly precious to the earth when all the surroundings are suitable for its reception. All the atmosphere becomes damp; whereas, if rain could fall when all is dry and warm, mischief might come of it. Well, now, God’s Holy Spirit loves to come and work in man a congenial atmosphere, a holy tenderness, a devout heartbreaking; then with the clouds he brings a heavenly rain.

What comes after the rain? Then, the sun shines: “clear shining after rain.” I am describing the conversion of a man to God, not in a cast-iron style; for, as I have already told you, experiences differ. But, as a rule, after the softening, saturating influences of the Holy Spirit have come to the man, then the clouds go, the rain ceases, and there comes clear shining. The sun shines out. The man perceives that he is a sinner, but that Christ has come to save him. He sees his own blackness; but he believes that Christ can make him whiter than the snow. He mourns his own rebellions; but he rejoices that he is made a reconciled child, and admitted into the sacred family. Now look at him; his face is full of brightness; he looks as if he would like to dance, he feels so happy. His sins are washed away, he has believed in Jesus, he has rested in Christ’s finished work, and now he is as merry as the birds in May. His cheerful exclamation is, “I feel like singing all the time,” for he is enjoying the clear shining after the rain. I should like to encourage any here tonight who are going through the rain time. Believe me, it will not last for ever; you shall yet say, “Lo, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come.” It will come all the sooner to you if you at once come to Christ. Look to him as lifted up on the cross for you; and you are now saved. God grant that you may do so at once!

Well, now, what happens after this? We have come as far as the clear shining after rain; what follows this? Why, then everything grows. The grass is sure to grow when we have mist and heat together; and when a soul, having felt its need of Christ, at last beholds the light of his countenance, then it begins to grow. I love to see young converts with all the freshness of their new-born faith; they have not borrowed their language from other people. I like to see them with their zeal; they are not quite so prudent as some of us older people are. You will find that they are doing this, and doing that, and doing the other good thing, and the prudent people tell them not to do too much. My dear young friend, do not listen to them! There is many an old saint who has been spokesman for the devil when he has tried to hold a young Christian back from doing more for Christ. I had a number of kind friends when I began laboring for the Lord, and especially when I began to preach; and these kind friends provided me with an unlimited quantity of blankets, and very wet blankets they were, too. They were afraid that I should get too hot in my Master’s service, so they were always ready with wet blankets to damp my ardor. I do think that, sometimes, when Satan wants to repress the zeal of young converts, he finds more efficient servants among good people than he does among bad ones. Brethren, let the young converts grow; they will not grow too fast. Let them serve God zealously; they will not do too much for him. Let them burn with vehement zeal; there are plenty in the world who will try to cool it down. God grant that our young friends may be able to resist that chilling influence, and still may be full of earnest might and spiritual strength in the service of their Savior!

That, then, is the usual method of the progress of a convert; clouds, rain, clear shining, and then growth. We pray that we may see this process perfected in very many.

Charles H. Spurgeon, vol. 38, Spurgeon’s Sermons: Volume 38, NO. 2284, electronic ed., Logos Library System; Spurgeon’s Sermons (Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1998).

Today’s quote from Spurgeon demonstrates that the man believed two points that many today would disagree with.  Firstly, he argues that intellectual assent to the gospel is insufficient for salvation, indeed that it may make you more worthy of damnation. Secondly, he seems to suggest that experience may well need to come first before faith. How many people do in fact say, “if I could just feel God, I would believe?” Finally he seems to believe that it is possible to have full assurance of faith without arrogance, to be soft-hearted and yet secure. Indeed, he is clear elsewhere in this sermon that the man without  tenderness of heart is not in his view saved.

Give me, then, a man of tender heart, who, at the same time, mixes full assurance with his tenderness. He is the man who will bring forth fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Once again, our text suggests to us the blending of experience and knowledge. Read the Westminster Assembly’s Confession of Faith; by all manner of means get a clear view of the doctrines of grace, so that you can state them to others, and know why you hold them firmly yourself; but, remember, if you do not experience them in your own heart, if you do not know the power of them in your own life, you know nothing at all about them. Dry doctrine, without the damping of the Spirit of God, may only make fuel for your eternal destruction. When a man accommodates his religion up in the garret of his head, and never takes it down into the parlour of his heart, that man’s religion is vain. We must experience the power of the gospel in our own souls if it is to be of real service to us.

“True religion’s more than notion,
Something must be known and felt.”

It is very nice to talk about Christ; but do you trust him as your Savior? It may be very easy to speak about the new birth; but have you felt it? When you get these two things together, first the rain of gracious experience, and then the clear shining of intellectual knowledge of Scripture, then will you bring forth fruit unto God.

Charles H. Spurgeon, vol. 38, Spurgeon’s Sermons: Volume 38, NO. 2284, electronic ed., Logos Library System; Spurgeon’s Sermons (Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1998).

One of the many highlights of the Brighton conference for me was that Kate Simmonds was once again with us leading worship, having traveled all the way from Sydney, Australia. She shared with us a song that displays the glorious gospel in a wonderfully fresh way. In these two videos she first speaks about the song, and then in the second one sings it. Congregations could do a lot worse than adopting this song. The music sheets and mp3s of this and two other new Kate Simmonds songs are available to download.  Fill that iPod with them right now as I have.

I want to remind you today of an old hymn and to highlight just one line from one of the verses.  Have a think about what this line means to us today, and starting tomorrow I will begin a series in which I will first share some quotes from others, then write myself about why I feel this line is vital for us to rightly understand.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Chorus:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

These notes are from the morning session of the 300 conference we recently had with John Piper. I have set them to auto-publish today, as I have been reliably informed that by now the video and audio of both this talk and the excellent Q and A should be available from 300leaders.org pop over and watch it if like me you are getting Piper withdrawal syndrome! I hope you enjoy this talk which was vintage John Piper. He was clearly enjoying himself as he preached one of only a very few messages he will be preaching during his 8 months break.

These are the things that have driven me for the past thirty years. There are just a few things that have shaped everything I do.  You don’t need go know a lot of things, just need to know a few things profoundly deeply.

Piper aimed to show that one of your main jobs as a pastor is to help your people pursue their maximum joy in Christ Jesus 24/7. This brings glory to Jesus.

He told us that his message remains controversial. Their is a suspicion of those who pursue their joy.  However, he told us that people with a Charismatic bent tend not to stumble as much about what Piper thinks. This is because a sweet experience of the Spirit helps people realise enjoying God is a good thing!

He began by unpacking his personal and church mission statement:

To spread: our church exists to spread.

Passion or zeal: Not a theology. I am on a crusade to make people reformed. But, doctrine is like blood, it’s supposed to course through your veins not be carried in a bucket!

Supremacy of God: I.e. God centeredness.

In everything. No area of your life that god is not supreme over.

for the joy. It is the supremacy of God that brings joy. It doesn’t oppress life.

Piper says he is on a crusade to spread joy to the world.

2 Corinthians 1.24. Working for joy, because an essential component of saving faith is joy in Jesus.

Saving faith embraces Jesus as a savior and treasure.

This verse is a voccational definition for you as a pastor

Philippians 1:25. Joy of faith. Joy from faith, constituent of faith. Paul says he is staying on the planet to advance joy.

That my joy may be in you John 15:11

Philippians 1:19ff preached first sermon at Bethlehem.

Paul’s desire is that his bodily life should not cause shame to Christ but honor.

How does it happen if he died? To die is gain. When my death is to me a benefit. You loose everything on the planet. Far better to be with Christ. If you are so satisfied with Jesus that when the moment comes to die you think “yes” because you want him. Everyone wants to be happy. Since Kant, many argue that you can’t want your own happiness to be good. But we have no choice over wanting to be happy. Paul sees Christ with the eyes of his heart as supremely satisfying. Purusing joy in Jesus makes him look magnificent.

Everything on earth is like rubbish compared to Christ.

People wonder about you, because you have a another drive.

Pursuit of joy in Christ doesn’t make you self-centered.

2. The reason we care is that pursuing satisfaction in Jesus makes Christ look magnificent. This is the goal of the universe.

3. What are some of the biblical justifications to this and what are the objections to this.

1. Commands us to do so. Psalm 100:2 Serve the lord with gladness. Psalm 37:4. Delight self in lord. Phil 4:4. People argue emotions can’t be commanded. The Bible commands emotions everywhere. Hope, joy, broken heartedness, Whether you can perform it or not is not the issue. God grants us the ability to do what we cant. It’s a sin not to be happy in Jesus. This is not icing on the cake it is the cake.
2. Bible shows that the nature of faith includes joy in Jesus. John 6:35. Coming to Jesus is an act of the heart. Synomynous with believing. Faith is a coming to Jesus for the satisfaction he gives. It is talking about soul hunger and thirst being satisfied. We area at the end of our quest. That’s faith. It’d not about a quick decision. It’s a miracle. We can’t make anybody be satisfied in Jesus.
3. The nature of evil shows we should pursue joy in God. Jeremiah 2:12-13. Be appalled at two great evils: people have forsaken the fountain of living waters and dug broken cisterns. Evil is standing at a fountain when you are desperate, and disdaining it and trying to dig your own source of Joy. The battle for most Christians is not with horrible evils, rather making neutral stuff becoming our God.
4. The nature of conversion. Kingdom is like Matthew 13:44. Eveeything he has is precious. Trips over something in a field and discovers a treasure. Just tripped over King Jesus. I will have him at any cost. Sells everything. It was from his JOY that he did this. At any cost our cost pursue Jesus. So many churches have pastors who hammer their people with threats and coercion. Rather awaken people to joy in Jesus.
5. The Bible threatens us with terrible things if we will not enjoy Jesus. Deut 28:47. Because did not serve with joy you will serve your enemy. Fear of God is a positive thing in the Bible. Can seem to contradict joy. But Psalm 2 says kiss the son less he is angry. If you hug God he is lovely, but if you run away from him he is scary! Fear can be negative, bit we like it of we are safe. In the storm of God’s holiness but safe as he goes by
6. Bibles teaching about self denial teaches us in Mark to deny self take up cross and follow me. This is a common objection to Piper’s teaching. Read the next verse. We are not meant to ultimately loose our life, instead we are meant to loose it now. John 12:25. Adds he who loves life looses it, hate it IN THIS WORLD to save it. Stop trying to be safe. It looks like you hate your life. Not ultimate self denial. It’s denial in this world to maximize your joy for ever. Its OK to have stuff. But we have to count all the stuff as loss to know Jesuss. If any of the stuff has to go let it go. We must put a cap on lifestyle to show that we value Jesus more. We mustn’t value stuff the same way they do. Jesus is the treasure not the stuff. Deny yourself wealth, security, fame, etc to have eternal pleasures
   6. If you don’t pursue your joy in God you can’t love People. Loving people does not mean stopping pursuing your joy and instead pursuing theirs. 2 Cor 9:7. God loves a cheerful giver. Not a begrudging giver. Not a dutiful giver. People feel more loved when you give to them because you want to. Help me go love people. Help me to be happy to do this. Help me to want this. An essential component of love g people is being glad to do so. We feel more loved when we are served joyfully. Imagine saying to a lover, I have bought you these flowers because it was my duty to do so!

Hebrews 13:17. Addressed to people but implications for leaders. Leaders are to be helped to do their work with joy not groaning. For that is no advantage to you. When the joy starts to go, we get on our faces and pray restore to me the joy of my salvation and help me to love you more so that it spills over onto the people.