Had great feedback from this mornings service already… thank you everyone.
People told me it was the most practical, sound and ‘doable’ teachings on the subject they have heard.
If you were here last week, make sure that you get it as well.
Remember all of the teachings are available at either
www.clctx.org
www.clcpeople.org
or from itunes as a podcast - The Pulpit Series
My attitude to the question of Tongues and other gifts is this: I have never been able to accept the traditional teaching as stated particularly, perhaps, by Warfield, that all gifts came to an end at the Apostolic era. I cannot see any scriptural warrant for this teaching; indeed it seems to me to be a kind of dispensationalism which renders much of the epistles useless. For instance it implies that the teaching of 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 19 - 21 has no application today. All I say is, that while it is clear from the history of the Church that certain gifts seem to have been in abeyance over the centuries the Holy Spirit in His Lordship may give them at any time. Indeed there is clear teaching that towards the end of this age such gifts are likely to reappear in great power, and at the same time many counterfeits.
The result of all this is that while I am very unhappy about this Charismatic Movement, and regard it as a real danger to the true Church and the Gospel, because it implies constantly that doctrine does not matter at all, I am equally concerned that we should not become guilty of “quenching the Spirit” and tying ourselves up in a dead orthodoxy.
Romans 5:2 ESV
(2) Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
You see in today’s society we are told as Christians we need to be inclusionists.
We are told we should be tolerant.
We should not pray in public.
We should not share our faith.
All because THEY (the unnamed agenda driven minority) will get upset.
The aim has never been religious freedom or the separation of church and state, the aim has always been the destruction of the church.
What they are really trying to say is…Christians be quiet.
They tell us we are wrong…that there are many ways to heaven, that Christians have to start allowing the culture, the world, the social frame work to rewrite our theology for us.
No, they are not asking for tolerance, in fact those that ask for tolerance, scream intolerance for Christian values and beliefs.
There is no such thing as a gospel of tolerance. That is not what Jesus taught.
There is a gospel of love.
There is a gospel of peace with God.
But not of tolerance and not of compromise.
What Paul is saying here is that if you do not know what you are standing for, then you will fall for anything.
Most Christians do not know how to defend their faith because they do not know their faith.
They do not know what it is they believe.
They do not know what they are standing for.
The greatest need for study, the greatest task for Christians in this era should give themselves to the passionate study of doctrine.
Know what you believe and why you believe it… and having down all to stand…stand.
Human beings are fundamentally self-preservationists. We don’t like putting ourselves in positions of vulnerability and weakness. We like to be in control. We like to be seen holding it all together. We like to present a facade.
May I go so far as to say that in church leadership more so than in business or community arenas, to show vulnerability or imperfection is to invite the vultures to circle.
1John 3:6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
A true Child of God cannot continue to habitually live a lifestyle of sin; it is impossible! In fact, if someone claims to be a Child of God, yet continues to habitually continue in sin, it is more than likely they were never genuinely born again in the first place.
This scripture uses a Greek word that indicates a continuous action, an ongoing occurrence. This verse could also be accurately translated as: “He who abides in Him does not go on continually, habitually sinning as a way of life; he who continually goes on routinely sinning as a way of life has not seen Him, neither knows Him.”
According to the Apostle John, anyone who habitually sins does not know Jesus Christ. This person may have come close to the Kingdom of God; they may have even learned the language of the church, but the fact that their life is unchanged indicates that their nature has never been changed. If they had really been infused with the divine Spirit of God, the life-giving seed would have impacted them so much that they would not be able to continue living as they had in the past.
Charles Finney once said that most people who attend church are probably not born-again. When asked why, he replied that it is impossible for a true Child of God to live in blatant sin as many believers do.
There is a difference between regret and repentance. Regret happens when you are caught; repentance happens when you are convicted. Some people come to church and even respond to an altar call in tears and wailing because they got caught by the preacher or by the Holy Ghost. You see, regret cries tears, repentance bears fruit.
The real difference is only known in 12 months time by the evidence of a changed life. A man caught in the act of pornography or sexual sin will often plead for forgiveness or for a second chance but will ultimately never change his life. Whereas, a man convicted by the Holy Ghost will quit a job, end a relationship, cancel his cable service, throw out his new computer, cancel his magazine subscription and go confess his sin to a faithful friend/ men’s group leader/ Pastor. He will do ANYTHING to get that which breaks God’s heart out of his life.
Regret is driven by what others will think; repentance is by what God will think.
Regret is about how you feel; repentance is about the fact that you know you have broken the heart of God.
Regret produces tears; repentance produces fruit.
One is about you: the other is about God.
We need people who will love God and His Word, more than their own flesh and desires. We need a generation of Christians who will stand strong and unwavering in a perverse and compromising world.
Friend, are you living worthy of the name Christian?
If not, then why not? What will it take for you to turn around and live passionately for Christ? Being caught or being convicted?
Some ask why did God wait so long before He sent Jesus?
He waited through the Jewish period of history to show that man cannot save himself through obedience to works.
He waited through the Greek period of history to show that man cannot save himself through philosophy and education.
He waited through the Roman period of history to show that man could not save himself through military might and a legal system.
And then in the fullness of time…
Sovereignty
1. supreme authority, especially over a state
2. freedom from outside interference and the right to self-government
Responsibility
1. the state, fact, or position of being accountable to somebody or for something
2. authority to make decisions independently
Fatalism
1. the philosophical doctrine holding that all events are fated to happen and that human beings cannot therefore change their destinies
2. acceptance of the belief that all events are predetermined and inevitable
This definition of fatalism really challenges me because it too closely tracks with something that has often been called faith. So, what exactly is the difference between true faith in God’s sovereignty and a fatalistic view. I think that we can find the answer in the outcome of each.
In essence, faith causes us to press in, seek, and overcome - fatalism causes us to give up.
Video blog:
So many people talk about walking in the peace of Christ…..but external peace is connected to internal peace according to the Apostle Paul.