Yesterday I preached at Jubilee and thought, as usual, that I would share my notes and the audio here. But before I get to that, since it's Monday and my habit in "normal" times is to share a quote with you from Doctor Martyn Lloyd-Jones, this quote is a good one to begin with as, in many ways, it sets the scene for what I was preaching on.

"What should we be seeking? We should always be seeking the Lord Jesus Christ himself, to know him, and know his love and to be witnesses for him and to minister to his glory . . . The Apostle Paul says that the height of his ambition is 'that I might know him'. Not that he might have experiences, but that he 'might know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings' etc.... We should seek to know him and his love. You see, we are told of the Spirit, 'The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.'

Now take that great term again, 'shed abroad'. Do not put your little limit to it and say, 'Oh yes, I love God'. Paul says that the love of God is 'shed abroad' in great profusion, overwhelmingly, in our hearts. Now that is what we should seek. We believe in God, in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the doctrines of salvation. All right! But the question that confronts us at this particular point is not that of believing, but love! A belief that does not lead to love is a very doubtful belief, it may be nothing but intellectual assent. The emphasis of the Bible is always upon love .... 'What is the first and the chiefest commandment?' Not that 'thou shalt believe in the Lord thy God', but that 'thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy mind, and all thy strength' ....

There is nothing that will enable a man to do that but the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You can believe and in a sense have a measure of love; but the thing put before us is not just a measure of love, it is an abounding love .....

Here, then, is the question—to what extent do we know this love of God to us and how do we love God? We are meant to love him with the whole of our being and there is nothing that can make us do so but the love of God shed abroad in our hearts ....

This is New Testament Christianity! New Testament Christianity is not just a formal, polite, correct, and orthodox kind of faith and belief. No! What characterizes it is this element of love and passion, this pneumatic element, this life, this vigour, this abandon, this exuberance—and, as I say, it has ever characterized the life of the church in all periods of revival and of reawakening. That is what we must seek—not experiences, not power, not gifts. If he chooses to give them to us, thank God for them and exercise them to his glory, but the only safe way of receiving gifts is that you love him and that you know him."

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Joy Unspeakable, The Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Ed. Christopher Catherwood, Kingsway Publications: Eastbourne, 1995, pp. 360-361.

You can download my sermon or listen to it right here:


Philippians 3 is a great passage. In some ways, it's one of my favorite passages, one God has kept bringing me back to over the years.

The Apostle starts this passage with the phrase, “Finally, REJOICE in the LORD” — and he is going to come back to that, but as he says that, he almost gets excited and goes off into a bit of a tangent, a diversion that will be our subject today. It's almost as if that word "Lord" triggers something in him, because for him the Lord is, of course, Jesus. It excites him and he starts to think about our subject today. He starts off by saying, "Look, it's good for me to remind you of these things." And sometimes I think when we hear God's Word, especially if we've been Christians a long time, we think, "Oh, yeah, I know it all" — and, in a sense, there will be nothing new today. So why does he say these things?

Paul gets angry. Preachers get angry. Why? Because TRUTH MATTERS. He has strong opposition to false teaching. Urges them STRONGLY to avoid DOGS—not talking about pets here! Talking about "street dogs," dangerous dogs, potential killers. But can be disguised to look like sheep. Watch out for those who mutilate flesh. Outwardly appear on God's side. Wolves in sheep's clothing. So Paul then asks what are the marks of living as a true Christian?

MARKS OF LIVING AS A CHRISTIAN

• Christians have the "real circumcision" i.e. HEARTS cut out, new heart, regenerated, devoted to Jesus. It's not about externals— circumcision, clothing, hair styles, etc. (verse 3).
  
  
• Christians are worshippers, every moment of every day, looking for opportunity to give God glory (verse 3).
  
  
• Christians worship by the Spirit of God — no confidence in the flesh, not man-empowered. Christians are Spirit-empowered (verse 3).
  
  
• Christians glory in Jesus—the one we honor, delight in. Paul could have written our church motto “It's all about Jesus.”
  
  
• Christians have no confidence in human ability/qualifications (verse 3ff) Paul was the Jew of Jews. Thought killing Christians was serving God. You can be sincerely WRONG! He was religiously blameless, but a murderer!! Hypocrisy of religion knows no bounds. But we are not looking for holy people here, rather people who know they need God. Jesus didn't come for the righteous, but for sinners.
  
  
• BIGGEST mark of living as a Christian is simply this: LIVING TO KNOW JESUS

WHAT DOES "LIVING TO KNOW JESUS" LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE THE RESULTS?

A DECISION — everything is DUNG compared to the SURPASSING WORTH of knowing him, the risen, ascended, glorious, loving King. COUNTS everything unimportant. Do the math! (verses 7-8).

A LOSS — of everything! “I have suffered the loss of all things ...” (verse 8).

A GAIN — “... that I may gain Christ and be found in him” (verse 8).

A HIDING PLACE — from the world “in Christ” and from God's wrath (verse 9).

AN ALIEN RIGHTEOUSNESS — a righteousness that comes from outside of ourself, a goodness. But it's only those who know Christ. “Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (verse 9).

But notice this! It doesn't stop there! There's a goal, not just that your sins will be forgiven, as glorious as that is. Not just that I might feel better, or not feel guilty anymore. Danger of turning gospel into merely something that deals with our felt needs. Rather, A PRECIOUS RELATIONSHIP — THAT I MAY KNOW HIM!!!! We were made to have a relationship with Jesus. He wants us to know him. That's the goal! It's not merely about being religious!

A POWERFUL FORCE — the power of his resurrection (verse 10). Christians should be conscious of the glorious power of the resurrection pulsating through their bodies. This is the heritage of the Christian. [Jonathan Edwards' quote—See below.]

A COMMUNITY OF SUFFERING — Not all glorious, however. Don't want to deceive. We share also with him in his suffering Become like him in his death (verse 10).

A GLORIOUS RESURRECTION — But also become like him in his resurrection. A glorious resurrection to come, but also experienced even in the here and now. (verse 11). “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” — a perfect relationship with Jesus in heaven. But God says in this passage you don't have to wait until heaven for "pie in the sky" when you die. There is cake on your plate while you wait! There is an obtaining, even in the here and now. Live the resurrection empowered life—know the power of God at work in me, experientially today to foretaste what will be mine in perfection in glory (verse 12ff).

Paul finishes the chapter by talking about an example for others to follow — “Imitate me, follow me, keep your eyes on people who are walking this way, copy them.”

Example not to follow: those who are enemies of the cross. But Christians don't glory in the damnation of anyone. Don't have enemies we are angry with, but have enemies for whom we weep. The belly is their god (their desires), running after flesh, whether food, sex, new clothes, etc. But for us, our bodies will be transformed, become like Jesus. They glory in their shame; we glory in our Saviour. Their end is destruction; our citizenship is in heaven. Not of this world (verse 17ff).

Background Quote

"Once, as I rode out into the woods for my health in 1737, having alighted from my horse in a retired place, as my manner commonly has been, to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, I had a view that for me was extraordinary, of the glory of the Son of God as Mediator between God and man, and His wonderful, great, full, pure and sweet grace and love, and meek and gentle condescension. This grace that appeared so calm and sweet, appeared also great above the heavens. The Person of Christ appeared ineffably excellent, with an excellency great enough to swallow up all thought and conception, which continued, as near as I can judge, about an hour, which kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears and weeping aloud . . . I felt an ardency of soul to be, what I know not otherwise how to express, emptied and annihilated; to lie in the dust and to be full of Christ alone; to love Him with a holy and pure love; to trust in Him; to live upon Him; to serve and follow Him and to be perfectly sanctified and made pure with a divine and heavenly purity.” (Jonathan Edwards, cited by Martyn Lloyd-Jones in An Exposition of Ephesians 1, God's Ultimate Purpose, p. 275)

No 12 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on May 15, 2005, and examined the events surrounding and subsequent to what came to be known as "The Toronto Blessing."

I published this post from an article I had written many years prior to May of 2005. In some ways it was this article that first stirred the "writing bug" in me. I surveyed the historical events associated with "The Toronto Blessing," and also looked at some biblical and church history data. Some of my reformed friends may be uncomfortable with the fact that I am willing to see good in what happened. No doubt some of my charismatic friends will be unhappy with the fact that I also accept that unhelpful excesses occurred in some places.

In addition to the sections I have republished here ("An Outpouring of the Holy Spirit? What On Earth is Going On?" and the "Origins of the Movement"), I also trace its spread to the UK, similar phenomena in history, what our response should be to these phenomena, and how to test similar movements. You can read my thoughts on those issues by clicking here or on the link provided at the bottom of this post.

I thought I would share with you—for history's sake and in its entirety—an article I wrote almost eleven years ago about the so-called "Toronto Blessing."

An Outpouring of the Holy Spirit? What on Earth is Going On?

In the months following May 1994, there was a sudden wave of bizarre phenomena in many churches in the UK, USA, and elsewhere in the world from a wide variety of backgrounds. Since then, the city of Toronto, Canada, has become closely associated with these events. Much attention has been drawn to all of this in both the secular and Christian press.

Phenomena widely reported with these events included falling over, laughing, crying, shaking, peculiar movements, cries, roars, intoxicating joy, and incoordination. While a dramatic transformation in the life of many of the people affected by these phenomena was observed, a large number of conversions was not reported and most people did not call this a revival.

The falling may, on occasion, have been sudden and violent. I am unaware of any cases of injury resulting. Giddiness was sometimes reported prior to the fall. There usually was not a total loss of consciousness, and most were able to hear, although they might not respond. A feeling of detachment was common—hours could go by and seem like minutes. An apparent spastic or flaccid paralysis was often present in individuals affected. Many reported impressions and visions imparted to them while on the floor. Some felt as if they were physically pinned to the floor and felt quite unable to move.

Likewise, shaking and other apparently involuntary movements took a wide variety of forms. These had to be seen to be believed, but included repetitive leaping to a great height, a heightened physiological tremor, twitching, and being thrown as though hit by an electric charge.

All of the above phenomena occurred in combination with the same individual. They sometimes followed prayer, with laying on of hands, or began spontaneously during worship, preaching, or alone at home. People became so intoxicated with joy that they had to be carried to their cars. Some were carried out rigid, others staggered as though drunk. It was very difficult to observe all of this without wondering, "What on earth is going on?"

A pattern emerged from study of the spread of the these phenomena. People, and especially church leaders, flocked to the affected churches to investigate. Even the skeptical found themselves being affected, much to their surprise. Upon their return home, often before assimilating what had happened, they found similar events breaking out in their own churches. The briefest of statements about God doing strange new things might be followed by a request for any who would like a fresh touch from God to stand. Often at this point an entire congregation would stand to its feet, and following a short prayer, a sudden outbreak of the above phenomena occurred. Those affected might not have even heard of the specific phenomena that had occurred elsewhere!

Origins of the Movement

The center of much of this attention, with 20,000 to 30,000 visitors from around the world in the first six months of 1994, was a tiny building at the end of a runway in Canada where the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church (now Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship) was meeting. John Wimber was the unofficial leader of the Vineyard Movement, of which this church was a member. This was one of several groups of charismatic or "new" churches worldwide. The Vineyard Movement was strongest in the USA, but certainly had churches elsewhere, including London.

Although the controversial John Wimber had seen many of these reported phenomena on a smaller scale in his conferences, he seemed to have had little to do directly with the birth of this movement. Indeed, Mr. Wimber subsequently died.

The first place where these phenomena occurred in the intensity and extent now so well known was actually not Toronto, but in the USA. In 1989, South African evangelist, Rodney Howard-Browne, complained that his meeting was being ruined when many people fell off their seats and began laughing. He soon became convinced that God was to blame. These events followed Howard-Browne and persisted after he had left, spreading rapidly. In April 1993, during meetings in Florida which were attended by 10,000 people, waves of laughter affected the congregation. Subsequently, widespread attention was drawn to these events. Approximately 2,200 people were baptized in water, and 800 new members were added to the host church by the middle of 1994. Another church in the area, whose initially reluctant pastor was suddenly struck to the floor with laughter, reported that by the middle of 1994 the church had grown from 800 to 1,500.

As a result of this meeting, Howard-Browne was invited to preach to 4,000 students later that year. He reported, "One night I was preaching on hell ... [laughter] just hit the whole place. The more I told the people what hell was like, the more they laughed. When I gave an altar call, they came forward by the hundreds to be saved."

The interesting thing has been that far from dying down after this evangelist left town, the phenomena continued and spread. The movement did not appear to be centered in a man, and in terms of its spread to the UK, Howard-Browne played a very limited role.

Since 1991, there has also been a separate outbreak in Argentina, where the phenomena seemed to be associated with a full-scale revival. In November 1993, John Arnott, the pastor of the Toronto Vineyard Church, traveled to Argentina and the United States to see what was happening. He met with another Vineyard pastor, Randy Clark of St. Louis, who had been prayed for by Rodney Howard-Browne and subsequently experienced similar effects in his own church.

On the 20th of January 1994, a meeting with Randy Clark took place in the Toronto Vineyard and the phenomena broke out. Very soon, news spread and the people started coming to investigate. From this church, other Vineyard churches and many other groups were affected.

Read more . . . "The Toronto Blessing" - When The Church Seemed To Be Going Mad

Today, I thought I would share with you the following quote on the resurrection from Jonathan Edwards.

So Christ, our second surety (in whose justification all whose surety he is, are virtually justified), was not justified till he had done the work the Father had appointed him, and kept the Father's commandments through all trials, and then in his resurrection he was justified. When he had been put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, 1 Pet. 3:18, then he that was manifest in the flesh was justified in the Spirit, 1 Tim. 3:16. But God, when he justified him in raising him from the dead, did not only release him from his humiliation for sin, and acquit him from any further suffering or abasement for it, but admitted him to that eternal and immortal life, and to the beginning of that exaltation that was the reward of what he had done.

And indeed the justification of a believer is no other than his being admitted to communion in the justification of this head and surety of all believers: for as Christ suffered the punishment of sin, not as a private person, but as our surety. So when after this suffering he was raised from the dead, he was therein justified, not as a private person, but as the surety and representative of all that should believe in him. So that he was raised again not only for his own, but also for our justification, according to the apostle, Rom. 4:25, "Who was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification." And therefore it is that the apostle says, as he does in Rom. 8:34, "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again."

But that a believer's justification implies not only remission of sins, or acquittal from the wrath due to it, but also an admittance to a title to that glory which is the reward of righteousness, is more directly taught in the Scriptures, particularly in Rom. 5:1, 2, where the apostle mentions both these as joint benefits implied in justification: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

So remission of sin, and inheritance among them that are sanctified, are mentioned together as what are jointly obtained by faith in Christ, Acts 26:18, "That they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them that are sanctified through faith that is in me." Both these are without doubt implied in that passing from death to life, which Christ speaks of as the fruit of faith, and which he opposes to condemnation, John 5:24, "Verily I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." - Jonathan Edwards Justification by Faith

I thought this would be a great quote for us to contemplate as we prepare to gather with God's people today. May our coming together cause an increase in our yearning for God!

Jonathan Edwards said "Persons need not and ought not to set any bounds to their spiritual and gracious appetites . . . [instead they ought] to be endeavoring by all possible ways to inflame their desires and to obtain more spiritual pleasures . . . our hungerings and thirstings after God and Jesus Christ and after holiness can't be too great for the value of these things for they are things of infinite value . . . [therefore] endeavor to promote spiritual appetites by laying yourself in the way of alurment . . . There is no such thing as excess in our taking of this spiritual food. There is no virtue in temperance in spiritual feasting." (quoted in What Jesus Demands from the World by John Piper, p. 90)

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards
As I was reading the Jonathan Edwards Resolutions, I discovered something else which is intreging for a new blogger. "that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God' s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure" and the second is "to be continually endeavoring to find out some new contrivance and invention to promote the aforementioned things." Well it seems to me that Jonathan Edwards would have loved blogs as they certainly seem to give pleasure and proffit and maybe a little good! Now, to do some real work!
My copy of the Resolutions