Marching Forth!

Today at Calvary Chapel Sydney I taught through Romans 10.  After Paul emphasised God's election of believers by grace through the Gospel, I enjoyed considering the emphasis on man's responsibility to believe in Jesus Christ.  Paul wrote in  Romans 10:14-15 :  " How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  15  And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,  w ho bring glad tidings of good things!"   In teachings of this passage I have heard many emphasis our need to go, a missional thrust of application.  The flow of the passage in context, however, shows God is the One who faithfully sends His messengers to bring the message of salvation through the Gospel so people can hear and believe in Christ. Paul continued in  Roma...

When I was a boy, I heard a story from a classmate that appalled me.  While it was still dark on Christmas day, my classmate's younger brother, about 4 years old, opened up all the gifts that were wrapped under the Christmas tree.  His parents awakened to find the living room completely littered with paper.  This act of sabotage prevented the joy of both giver and receiver of the gifts.  So what did they do?  The parents promptly sent the boy to his room under a vow of secrecy and re-wrapped all the presents so they could properly exchange gifts all together.  This was one of the unwritten rules of Christmas for children:  never open a gift unless it is yours and you are given permission by your parents to do so.  I shuddered to think of the consequences I would have faced for such a brazen transgression. Because the boy who opened the presents was very young, it is likely he did not fully understand the unwritten rule.  Maybe due to immaturi...

In a sermon I heard, the preacher spoke of Simon of Samaria who came to faith in Jesus after being a practicing sorcerer.  For a long time he held the people of his city spellbound by his supernatural abilities, and he duped them into thinking he wielded the power of God.  After Simon believed in Jesus, was baptised and continued with Philip the evangelist in fellowship, he saw when visiting apostles laid hands on people they were filled with the Holy Spirit.  He foolishly offered Simon Peter money so he too could have the power to lay hands on people so they could receive the gift of God.   Acts 8:20-21 tells us Peter's fiery response:  " But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!  21  You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God ." It is very possible this idea of offering money for power carried over from Simo...

One thing I love and appreciate about God is He is immutable and consistent.  Being eternal and above all God is not susceptible to influences of modern society, and His wisdom does not shift with the times.  In God and His word there is an objective clarity and permanence that is not found in anyone or things of this world.  A person's opinions can shift like the breeze, and their conduct can resemble a chameleon that adjusts to their environment.  I respect people who take a stand on God's truth, and I find their insights by God's grace endure the test of time.  It is encouraging to know there are many great thinkers whose intelligence far exceeds my own who were not ashamed to make the living God and His word central to their thoughts and perspective. I have been reading G.K. Chesterton's In Defense of Sanity lately, and he is exceptionally brilliant.  I am glad that some of the time I understand what he means and enjoy his sense of humour that crops up...

Queen Jezebel is a woman whose villainy is infamous in the pages of Scripture.  She stirred up her husband Ahab to do great evil, systematically tried to exterminate all the prophets of God, murdered righteous Naboth and his household for his vineyard, and promoted idolatry like few in Israel before her or ever since.  For her sin God took vengeance upon her according to His word by the hand of Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat. The prophet who anointed Jehu king held forth the word of the LORD in  2 Kings 9:7-10 :  " You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD , at the hand of Jezebel.  8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free.  9 So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.  10  Th...

The book of Malachi begins with the burden of the word of the LORD that reads, " I have loved you," says the LORD.  Yet you say, 'In what way have you loved us ?'"  Isn't this a heartbreaking response from God's people, ones He always loved?  It is written in  Jeremiah 31:3 :  " The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;  t herefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you ."  From the beginning God only showed love to His people, for God is love.  The Hebrews were God's people because He loved and chose them out of all the nations of the world, brought them out of Egypt, and brought them into the land of promise.  Yet a day came when they did not acknowledge God loved them at all.  Their response to God's claim of loving them was, "Yeah?  Prove it!" Malachi's style of prophecy was dialectical or disputational, and God's objective statements were followed by quest...

While doing premarital counselling, I read a portion of a book that provides insight into our relationship with God.  One of the things we discussed is the different levels of communication, and five levels of communication are shared from John Powell's book, Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am ?  These levels provoked self-examination for me as I considered my personal communication style with God in prayer.  The excerpt from Before You Say "I Do"  reads: " Level Five:  Cliche Conversation.  This type of talk is very safe.  We use phrases such as "How are you?"  How's the dog?  "Where have you been?"  "I like your dress."  In this type of conversation there is not personal sharing.  Each person remains safely behind his defences. Level Four:  Reporting the Facts About Others.  In this kind of conversation we are content to tell others what someone else has said, but we offer no personal information on these facts....