Stuff Won't Satisfy

I thought the following article form Yahoo news was pretty interesting:


Why this millennial quit his 6-figure job and gave away most of his possessions

It's amazing to the world when folks can't be satisfied with "stuff."  No one really believes that until they've been there.  From the Christian worldview this shouldn't be amazing at all.

What's ironic is the guy's friend is named Nicodemus! You won't find fulfillment in this life unless you are born again.  Contentment in this world is impossible without Christ. Furthermore, it's not that we are "born again" and then are enabled to find contentment in stuff.  Stuff won't satisfy.  We are born again and our contentment is rooted in Christ.  Perfectly? Of course not, but we fight for it.  As Augustine said "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You."

Read the article.  Perhaps it will come in handy as a sermon illustration sometime.

6 Themes of Genesis 12, Part 2

A reminder as to why Genesis 12 was originally written (in short): To show the Israelites who this God was that was leading them to the promised land and what He had promised.

In Part 1 we looked at God’s call on Abram’s life. We saw GRACE – BLESSING – GOSPEL as 3 themes of Genesis 12. In Part 2, we are going to look at 3 more themes from this chapter and these themes are going to deal with Abram’s response to God’s call. This covers Genesis 12:1-20 and is only a summary of the message.


1. Obedience – Abram received the effectual call from YHWH and he responded in faith. We cannot separate obedience from faith. Obedience flows out of faith.

Hebrews 11:8 says “By faith Abraham obeyed…”

Obedience apart from faith doesn't work because it’s not really obedience. We have to realize that within ourselves we are bankrupt. There’s nothing we can do of our own accord to secure God’s favor. We must go to Christ in faith believing His promises for the forgiveness of sins through His own righteous life and substitutionary death on behalf of sinners.

Abram could not see all that God had in store for him but he believed by faith alone. But that faith wasn't alone was it? It produce obedience. Abram left and he took everything. Just as God said. From verses 4-9 we learn a few more things about obedience:

A. Part of our obedience is worship and part of our worship is obedience (See 12:7-8)

No, it’s not about “rituals”. It’s what’s on the “inside” that counts, so to speak. But what is “on the inside” is going to show up on the outside. Abram builds an altar as an outflow of a changed heart.

So really, when we are pursuing God by faith that is worship and there are times as we pursue God by faith that we set aside to specifically worship - “build an altar” so to speak.

B. Part of our obedience is understanding our citizenship (see Hebrews 11:10)

Abraham was an alien and sojourner. He was promised the land but he himself would never occupy it. Hebrews tells us that Abraham realized his citizenship was in that city whose designer and builder was God.

C. Part of our Obedience is patience 

Here’s the land that God promised Abram but guess what? IT’S ALREADY OCCUPIED BY SOMEBODY ELSE! Genesis 12:7 is the first recording of God appearing to Abram. The point of God’s appearance is to reassure Abram. Abram is to trust God’s promises and be patient, knowing that God is faithful.

2. Failure (take a look at Genesis 12:10-20)

The Bible is real. The Bible is totally true and trustworthy. The Bible doesn't paint false pictures of the people it tells us about. Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Paul – all had failures. In fact, there is only one who didn't and that’s the point: JESUS.

I want to talk for a moment about “end” and “means”

· End – the goal, what you’re going for, where you’re trying to get
· Means – the way you get there.

What is the “end” in this passage? That Abram would be made into a great nation (Genesis 12:1-3).  Problem? 12:12-13

Kind of selfish right? Most certainly! But I do think Abram has the “end” in mind. In other words “I need to live because God has made me promises and through me all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So then the means Abram uses to accomplish his end are what? Lie. Give his wife to another man and take the gifts Pharaoh gives in silence.

I want to drive home this point: THE END DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS

What should Abram had done? He should have trusted God’s promises! Don’t we too often impatiently take matters into our own hands because of a lack of faith?

And as one further application: For too long we've used this mantra in the church: “The end justifies the means.” In other words, we can do anything we want as long as people are getting saved, that’s what is important. No doubt we should praise God for salvations! But, God doesn't save people because of unbiblical means. He saves people in spite of them.

God saved Abram in spite his faithlessness. Abram’s failure here is not an excuse for us. It was written down for our instruction. It shows us that we aren't to be dependent on Abraham. We are to be dependent on Jesus. God made a name of Abraham as a plan to make a name for Jesus, who succeeded in every place Abram, and you, and I, failed.

3. Mission

For this theme we need to revert back to Genesis 12:1-3. God is God of the nations. He is revealing to us here how He is going to bring reconciliation between Himself and the Nations. Remember where Genesis 12 falls. Immediately after God disperses the nations. This isn't a “commission” to Abram as much as it is a “communication” of what God is going to do.

So it’s not “Abram, go and tell” it’s Abram, this is what I am going to do through you to bring the hope of salvation to all the families of the earth.” And we do see that throughout the history of Israel other people who weren't Israelites where grafted in, for example Rahab the prostitute, and Ruth.

God’s mission is to redeem for Himself a people from every tribe tongue language and nation. All those who will repent and believe the Gospel and this is a mission that He will accomplish! Does this have anything to do with us? Actually, much. The church is God’s means for accomplishing this end.

Here’s a beautiful and theologically robust thought: The CHURCH does not have a MISSION. The MISSION has a CHURCH! (Not original! But, I’m not sure where I first heard this thought)

So for us it IS more than just a “communication” of what God is going to do, it is also a COMMISSION. We have been commissioned to GO AND TELL. To take the Gospel to the ends of the earth “for the sake of His name.”

If your church only looks like you, why? Is it because everyone in your area is exactly like you or is it because you are not intentionally reaching all tribes, tongues, and nations?



So, there’s Genesis 12! Grace, Blessing, Gospel, Obedience, Failure, Mission

Shouldn't these truths cause us to be glad in God? To forsake all else and trust Him alone? Repent of making less of God than the Scripture does and come to Christ in faith…

Purpose in Your Practice

"Most people who think they are working hard are merely developing the skill of being in the gym, not the skill of making baskets."

Wow. That hit me. I found the article this quote came from after seeing Donald Whitney's tweet earlier today:

You can read the article HERE, but the basic premise is that those, like Mozart, Kobe, etc. who where/are the best in their field put in the time to practice. But that's not all. It's not just practice. it's practice with a purpose.

So, it's not enough to just "go to the gym for an hour" every day, there must be purpose in your practice. Waking up everyday and going to the gym at 6:00am and half-heartedly doing your leg workout while taking frequent breaks to check Facebook isn't really going to produce the desired results.Now, the analogy between practice and pursuing holiness is far from perfect but it is close enough to draw some application for us.

There is a category of "christian" in the South that means nothing more than attending church (sometimes), trying not to do anything "real bad," and being a good American citizen. This post isn't an address to that category because that category isn't really Christian at all. If you're in that category you need to repent and believe the gospel.

Here's who I'd like to address. Those who acknowledge their only hope of salvation is receiving the righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith which He secured for them by His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. You truly desire to grow in godliness but your bible intake, prayer life, evangelism, participation at church, etc. has felt stale.

You feel like your working hard, but not seeing "results".

Have you trained yourself to just go to the gym or how to make baskets? What is the purpose of your practice? Why are you reading the bible? Why are you praying? Why are you involved in a local body of believes? Why are you telling others about Jesus?

Seriously, answer that. Why? Is it because "that's what Christians are supposed to do"? Is it because "I feel guilty if I don't"? If those are your motivations, or something similar, you are training yourself in the skill of going to the gym. There is no sustaining purpose there and while there will be growth if you truly are a Christian through the means of these and others spiritual disciplines, you will never find satisfaction in your walk with Jesus by just trying to keep a checklist.

1 Timothy 4:7 says "Train yourself for godliness."

Paul understood that we have the World, the Flesh, and the Devil pulling at us as we continue to walk with Jesus by faith. While we don't diminish the work of the Holy Spirit in our Sanctification, the reality of the New Testament is that we must train. And actually, it's when we really come face to face with grace as Christians, and understand that we don't have to earn God's favor or do things to make Him love us (and realize that we can't do things to make Him love or hate us) that we will be motivated to train ourselves for godliness. We've tasted and seen that the Lord is good and we want more. We realize that God has saved us for a purpose - to fellowship with Him forever in holiness. To glorify Him and enjoy Him forever or as John Piper has put it "To glorify God by enjoying Him forever." While we will never realize anything close to perfection in this life, our desire now is to pursue holiness because we want to be glad in God.

And that's the kicker to training for the skill of making baskets, not just going to the gym. What must ground our bible intake, prayer time, discipleship meetings, church gatherings, etc. is the goal of godliness. We do not do these things to check off a list or to make God happy or to keep Him from zapping us. We do these things because we desire holiness.

So when the alarm goes off at 5:00am, and you're groggy, and feel like you're just going through the motions, keep this in the forefront of your mind: godliness. I want to know Christ in a more intimate way. I want to be like Christ. I want to do His blessed will in every area of my life. I want to love others and take the gospel to the nations. I want to be glad in God. I want godliness.

And that's purpose in your practice. You're not waking up early to train yourself to go to the gym. You're waking up early to learn how to make baskets.

On Corporate Prayer and Repentance

Below is a resolution passed at the 2011 SBC Annual Meeting. (Baptist Press Article about this HERE) I plan on discussing this with our church at our prayer meeting next Wednesday. Yes, this is now almost 3 years old but  I ask that you would prayerfully consider this resolutions's charge.  No doubt we are facing uncertain times as a nation and as a denomination for that matter. Let us seek His face together.  Who knows what our gracious God may do?

ON CORPORATE PRAYER AND REPENTANCE

From the SBC Annual Meeting 2011 

WHEREAS, Both the Old and New Testaments, as well as church history, attest to the reality that God works powerfully and manifests His presence among His people through authentic God-seeking prayer and repentance; and
WHEREAS, Jesus expressed deep grief and righteous anger when He came to the temple and found it to be something other than a “house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17); and WHEREAS, The book of Acts teaches through the birth of the church that what is birthed in prayer is of necessity sustained by prayer (e.g., Acts 1:14; 2:1, 42; 4:31); and
WHEREAS, The common corporate sins of many churches include, but are not limited to, prayerlessness, lukewarmness, neglect of biblical church discipline, and shallow relationships with God and with one another; and
WHEREAS, In our preoccupation with Mammon, we have too often embraced unbiblical priorities in our spending, our giving, our response to the poor, and our allocation of resources, assuming by our actions, contrary to our Lord’s explicit teaching, that our lives consist in the abundance of our possessions (Luke 12:15); and
WHEREAS, For the past fifty years wickedness and family collapse have been increasing rapidly, and at the same time we have seen that programs and strategies alone cannot revive lagging baptism rates or anemic discipleship; and
WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention adopted the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report in 2010, a part of which called for pastors to lead their churches in Solemn Assemblies “for the purpose of calling Christ’s people to return to God, to repentance, and to humility in service to a renewed commitment to Christ and the Great Commission”; and

WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention adopted the addition to the Convention Calendar of Activities a focused Day of Prayer for the SBC in 2011 and for the years to follow; and 

WHEREAS, God has already promised that He will not despise a “broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17); now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, June 14-15, 2011, do hereby beseech all pastors, congregations, ministry leaders, and denominational workers to seek the Lord in the manner of 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Joel 2:12-17, and to repent corporately in their various churches of all sins which God’s Spirit reveals; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we call on all Southern Baptist churches to renew their first-love devotion to Jesus Christ through full confession of and repentance from all revealed sin, and that they humbly declare their utter dependence upon, and glad surrender to, His grace; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we encourage all Southern Baptists to pursue a life of genuine repentance, Kingdom-focused prayer times for sweeping revival and spiritual awakening, and consistent prayer for specific lost people, missions, and ministry; and be it finally
RESOLVED, That we urge Southern Baptist churches to embrace corporate prayer and repentance for revival in the hope that God would be merciful to our churches, the Southern Baptist Convention, the United States of America, and the peoples of the world for the glory of His great Name.

Praying for Your Church

I have to give all the credit to this idea to my good friend Nathan Nalley. I've wanted to be more disciplined in praying for my church as a pastor but didn't have a good strategy.  Now I do! Below you'll find a copy of what I use (with names removed) and I don't mind emailing you a .pub file if you'd like to use it for your own church.  Before I get to that though, let me include some quotes on why, as a pastor, you should be praying for your people.

• “We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Acts 6:4

• “A minister who is not a man of piety and prayer, whatever his other talents may be, cannot be called a servant of God.” - John Smith

• “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you.” 1 Peter 5:2

• “The minister who does not pray for his flock is no minister at all.” Martin Holdt

• “We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:9-10

I hope those few lines are enough to motivate you as a pastor to pray for your flock.  How does that work practically?  I know Mark Dever suggests praying through your church directory regularly if you have one. My problem is, we don't have one!  So, with this guide we are able to pray for everone in our church in two weeks, praying 4 days a week.  This is a guide I put in every member's hand to encourage their disciplined prayer for every other member of the church.  Once printed, this is easily turned into a trifold pamphlet.

Family Devotions

I remember the 1st time I really began doing family devotions a little over 5 years ago.  I had a 9 month old, a wife of 2 years, and felt absolutely clueless.  I had been convicted of my neglect of this discipline and knew that we needed to do it but I was unsure of myself.  That was 2008.

(Piper and Big Sis, Ella)

Now, 2014, I have a wife of 7 years, a one week old, a 2 year old, a 4 year old, and a six year old. I am still convinced that we need to do family devotions (we call it "family worship") but as a husband and father I am still not always 100% sure of myself!  So, I wanted to pass along a couple of recent posts I've seen regarding family devotions to hopefully encourage you as you lead in this important discipline. 

First, here's a post from Dr. Jim Hamilton that fleshes out some of the biblical reasons for leading family devotions: That the Coming Generation Might Praise the Lord

Here is a video that features a recent panel discussion on family devotions but before the discussion it gives 2 real life examples of family devotions led by Dr. Jim Hamilton and Dr. Timothy Paul Jones:

(originally here)

The following is from a recent post by Andrew Weiseth at the Resurgence website:

Practical outline of a family devotional

In case you might find it helpful, here’s what we tend to do in our family time:

• Pray

• Sing a song or two

• Read the Bible story

• Invite all kids to interact with what they heard

• Act out the story, with me narrating as needed as we go along

• Take pictures during the reenactment and let the kids look at the photos

• Sing a song or two

• Hold hands and pray together for each other

I pray this encourages you. May it help you to lead your family toward Jesus with greater joy and power. How can you incorporate your kids’ play into your own family devotional time?

Finally, I'll link to an old post where I outlined How We Do Family Worship.  I would add a few things to that. 1st, we use The Jesus Storybook Bible now (instead of the one mentioned in the post).  We also open our night with Doxology and close it with The Gospel Song.  Finally, we are also intentional about memorizing Scripture.  You'd be surprised how well kids can memorize bible verses!  Repetition is key. A few good ones to start out with are Genesis 1:1, Psalm 19:1a, Psalm 34:8a, etc.

I also saw this book referenced in the above video and think we'll invest in purchasing it!

I hope you have found these resources helpful.  The one encouragement I like to give parents comes from the great shoe company, Nike: Just do it.  Seriously.  I know you feel overwhelmed and under-equipped but God has given you the tremendous blessing and responsibility for shepherding your children.  Just do it. Just begin and trust that the Lord will lead you, through His Word, in the right direction. To God be the glory.

7 Attributes of the Church

Immanuel Baptist Church, Clinton, AR

I’m finally beginning to read Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church, a book by Dr. Gregg R. Allison.  It is a book that I’ve wanted to read for some time because of having the opportunity to sit under a couple of classes taught by Dr. Allison at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and hearing his heart for Jesus and his love for the local church.  I’m sure I’ll share some more from this work but one thing I liked was Dr. Allison’s 7 attributes of the local church.  I think you'll find it helpful reflecting on these.

The local church is: (pg. 103)

1. Doxological: oriented to the glory of God

2. Logocentric: focused on the Word of God – this is understood in two aspects. The local church is to be focused on Jesus the Word of God incarnate and to be focused on Scripture.

3. Pneumadynamic: created, gathered, gifted, and empowered by the Holy Spirit

4. Covenantal: gathered as members in new covenant relationship with God and in covenant relationship with each other

5. Confessional: united by both personal confession of faith in Christ and common confession of the historic Christian faith

6. Missional: identified as the body of divinely called and divinely sent ministers to proclaim the gospel and advance the kingdom of God

7. Spatio-temporal/eschatological: assembled as a historical reality and possessing a certain hope and clear destiny while it lives the strangeness of ecclesial existence in the here and now

The first three attributes deal with the church’s origin and orientation.  The church exists for the glory of God!  Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone and head of the Body.  The Spirit of God calls us out of death and into life and empowers us to live for Jesus and carry out His mission. 

The final four attributes deal with the church’s “gathering and sending.” We are gathered under the new covenant and confess Christ as our only suitable all sufficient savior in accordance with historic orthodoxy.  We are carry the message of the gospel this lost and dying world realizing that we have been called in a specific time and place as we await the blessed hope of Jesus’ return.

Therefore, I don’t think it’s necessary for a church to have a “vision statement” in the sense of needing to create a reason for why a local church exists. Here is our vision!  This is what the church is and this is how and why it exists and these truths are rooted in Scripture, which is all sufficient. 

I’m only about halfway through this book so far (which weighs in at about 471 pages) but I would recommend it to anyone who desires to grow in their understanding of and love for the church.  Here it is on Amazon. (I get no commission so just find the book for the best price!)