Is God's Will My Will?

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification" 1 Thessalonians 4:3

It is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me; is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the Atonement? Am I willing to let Jesus be made sanctification to me, and to let the life of Jesus be manifested in my mortal flesh? Beware of saying - Oh, I am longing to be sanctified. You are not, stop longing and make it a matter of transaction - "Nothing in my hands I bring." Receive Jesus Christ to be made sanctification to you in implicit faith, and the great marvel of the Atonement of Jesus will be made real in you. All that Jesus made possible is made mine by the free loving gift of God on the ground of what He performed, my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness), a holiness based on agonizing repentance and a sense of unspeakable shame and degradation; and also on the amazing realization that the love of God commended itself to me in that while I cared nothing about Him, He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification (see Rom. 5:8. R.V.). No wonder Paul says nothing is "able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is done only through the superb Atonement of Christ. Never put the effect as the cause. The effect in me is obedience and service and prayer, and is the out come of speechless thanks and adoration for the marvellous sanctification wrought out in me because of the Atonement.

~October 20, 2009 My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers

Nine Pastoral Prayers

I was listening to Matt Chandler yesterday and ended up listening to a podcast titled "Nine Pastoral Prayers." These are the prayers that Chandler and his staff prayed through when they were starting the Village Church. I think there is a lot of good stuff in these nine prayers for the church in general, but I also think that there are some good things for individual believers to remember. So here you go.

Prayer #1: That we would see that the greatest problem in the universe is not mere moral failure – but rather a failure to honor God. (“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21)

Prayer #2: That we would understand that discipline rarely brings about love – but love always brings about discipline. (“Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” Galatians 3:5)

Prayer #3: That we would realize that children of God are not under wrath – but under mercy. (“[He will make known] the riches of his glory for vessels
of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory.” Romans 9:23)

Prayer #4: That we would find that the fullness of all things – including life and joy – is in Christ. (“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10)

Prayer #5: That we would experience a holy discontentment with where our lives are – and that we would espouse the hope of what our lives can be. (“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope.” Romans 8:20)

Prayer #6: That we would recognize that God has purposefully placed us here – at this time, in this place – for His glory. (“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” Acts 17:26)

Prayer #7: That we would develop a taste for truth – even difficult ones. (“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11)

Prayer #8: That we would embrace Biblical Christianity – not American evangelicalism. (“In the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self,. . .having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Prayer #9: That we would believe in the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit – and desire them earnestly. (“So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.” 1 Corinthians 14:39)

Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods

Back about a month ago or so, I read another book by Pastor Mark Driscoll out of Mars Hill Seattle, this one entitled Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and TImely Methods. This book as actually the second book of what is known as the Re:Lit project put out by the Resurgence, which is a online ministry resource started by Driscoll.

In similar fashion to Vintage Jesus, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears set out to answer 12 commonly asked questions about the church. These questions include:

1. What Is the Christian Life?
2. What Is a Christian Church?
3. Who Is Supposed to Lead a Church?
4. Why Is Preaching Important?
5. What Are Baptism and Communion?
6. How Can a Church Be Unified?
7. What Is Church Discipline?
8. How Is Love Expressed in a Church?
9. What Is a Missional Church?
10. What Is a Multi-Campus Church?
11. How Can a Church Utilize Technology?
12 How Could the Church Help Transform the World?

I really enjoyed this book; it is a really concerted effort to see what exactly scripture says about the church and examines the scriptural backing for a lot of the practices the church has undertaken historically. Also similar to Vintage Jesus, each chapter is concluded with Dr. Gerry Breshears attempting to answer more specific questions falling within the question of the chapter.

I also really like how a large portion of the book is practical. Driscoll uses his own experiences in planting Mars Hill and gives the reasoning behind why they do things the way they do them. I personally found those portions really interesting because I had been curious as to how the leaders of a church that size think through the things they do.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone. This is not a book written to present some new way of doing church; this book seeks to define what is a Christian church and what it looks like and does historically as well as some practical applications for today.

Vintage Jesus: Timely Answers to Timely Questions

Today I finished a book called Vintage Jesus: Timely Answers to Timely Questions by Pastor Mark Driscoll out of Mars Hill Church in Seattle and Gerry Breshears. The book is based on a sermon series done by Driscoll of the same title where twelve questions regarding Jesus are sought to be answered by Driscoll. These questions include:

1. Is Jesus the Only God?
2. How Human was Jesus?
3. How did People Know Jesus was Coming?
4. Why did Jesus Come to Earth?
5. Why did Jesus' Mom Need to be a Virgin?
6. What did Jesus Accomplish on the Cross?
7. Did Jesus Rise from Death?
8. Where is Jesus Today?
9. Why Should We Worship Jesus?
10. What Makes Jesus Superior to Other Saviors?
11. What Difference has Jesus Made in History?
12. What will Jesus do upon His Return?

I must say that I really enjoyed this book. Driscoll has a knack for examining what the world, both historically and contemporarily have said about Jesus in regard to these questions, and then diving into what scripture has to say about these questions. Driscoll definitely did not write this book without doing some research, since each individual chapter as over 30 citations, most of them coming from scripture. Each chapter also ends with Dr. Gerry Breshears answering several specific questions that relate to the overall question of each chapter.

I do think that Driscoll could have probably broken up some of the topics into smaller sections, but the overall presentation was good. I was a little bit worried that the chapters would just be a transcript from the sermons he preached in the series Vintage Jesus, but he did considerable editing and additions to make it different that his sermons.

Overall, I think this is a really good book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. There is also a DVD resource that can be used to help work through this book with a small group. I have not personally seen this resource, but I imagine it is of great value. I would also recommend listening to the sermon series Vintage Jesus, they do great little vignettes where they interview people and ask them what they think about Jesus.

Do You Worship the Work?

"We have no right to decide where we should be placed, or to have preconceived ideas as to what God is preparing us to do. God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work."

~Excerpt from My Utmost for His Highest "Do You Worship the Work?" April 23

This was good for me to hear this morning.