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Thoughts on the Way Home
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
A Devotional Thought on Procrastination or "Sure Honey, I'm Doing That Tomorrow"
Yesterday...
Me: Sure honey, I'm going to clean the leaves out of the gutters this weekend because if it rains, we'd be in major trouble. (emphasis in the original)
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"...you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow." (James 4:13-14)
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Today
Me: Sure honey, I'm going to clean the leaves out of the gutters this weekend because if it rains, we'd be in major trouble. (emphasis in the original)
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"...you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow." (James 4:13-14)
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Today
Is the Gospel of John Only For Non-Christians?
John Piper answers...
The Gospel of John is a portrait of Jesus Christ and his saving work. It focuses on the last three years of Jesus’ life—and especially on his death and resurrection. It’s purpose is clear in John 20:30-31: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The book is written to help people believe on Christ and have eternal life.
But don’t get it in your head that the book is therefore only for unbelievers. Believers on Jesus must go on believing in Jesus in order to be saved in the end. Jesus said in John 15:6, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” And in John 8:31, he said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”So when John says, “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name,” he meant that he was writing to awaken faith in unbelievers and sustain faith in believers—and in that way lead both to eternal life. And there may be no better book in the Bible to help you keep on trusting and treasuring Christ above all."
John Piper, "In The Beginning Was The Word"
The Gospel of John is a portrait of Jesus Christ and his saving work. It focuses on the last three years of Jesus’ life—and especially on his death and resurrection. It’s purpose is clear in John 20:30-31: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The book is written to help people believe on Christ and have eternal life.
But don’t get it in your head that the book is therefore only for unbelievers. Believers on Jesus must go on believing in Jesus in order to be saved in the end. Jesus said in John 15:6, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” And in John 8:31, he said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”So when John says, “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name,” he meant that he was writing to awaken faith in unbelievers and sustain faith in believers—and in that way lead both to eternal life. And there may be no better book in the Bible to help you keep on trusting and treasuring Christ above all."
John Piper, "In The Beginning Was The Word"
Fueling Faith
"Those who know Your name will put their trust in You" (Psalm 9:10)
If you find yourself losing reality, don't study your faith, study your God!
If you find yourself losing reality, don't study your faith, study your God!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Being Purposefully Others-Centered
"Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself." John 13:3-4 (emphasis mine)
Among many other things this story illustrates a principle. Humble one-another service won't just fall on us automatically. We must purposefully gird ourselves with this mindset. Or, to say it another way, "all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another" (1 Peter 5:5 emphasis mine).
Among many other things this story illustrates a principle. Humble one-another service won't just fall on us automatically. We must purposefully gird ourselves with this mindset. Or, to say it another way, "all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another" (1 Peter 5:5 emphasis mine).
Monday, October 26, 2009
Time and Prayerlessness
"One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time." - John Piper
No reason to only pick on Twitter and Facebook - throw blogs in there also. No one who spends any time on any of these has any excuse for prayerlessness! That's quite a thought.
No reason to only pick on Twitter and Facebook - throw blogs in there also. No one who spends any time on any of these has any excuse for prayerlessness! That's quite a thought.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
John 21:22
One of the most practical verses in all of the Bible:
“What is that to you? You follow me!” —John 21:22
HT: JT
“What is that to you? You follow me!” —John 21:22
HT: JT
A Sense of Him
But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping...And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." John 20:11-13
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." John 20:15
When we find ourselves in this condition would we - like Mary - do anything to get Him back?
We most certainly walk by faith. And our spiritual sanity cannot be based on feelings and experiences. The grounds of our hope is the objective work of Christ. But to deny the reality of experiential Christianity in order to accommodate for a low level of Christianity is to do violence to verses such as John 14:20, 21, and 23.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
A Mark of a False Prophet
"Your prophets...have not exposed your iniquity so as to restore you from captivity." (Lamentations 2:14)
The mark of a false prophet is not so much what they are saying, but what they are not saying. And even when they do say some of these things they don't say enough (see the "so as" above). That is what makes him so dangerous. Everyone would run from a wolf in wolves' clothing. But he doesn't look like a wolf, he looks like a sheep (Matthew 7:15). It's a good thing to keep in mind that the Devil doesn't actually have horns. He can easily appear as a fine preacher who is versed in theology.
The mark of a false prophet is not so much what they are saying, but what they are not saying. And even when they do say some of these things they don't say enough (see the "so as" above). That is what makes him so dangerous. Everyone would run from a wolf in wolves' clothing. But he doesn't look like a wolf, he looks like a sheep (Matthew 7:15). It's a good thing to keep in mind that the Devil doesn't actually have horns. He can easily appear as a fine preacher who is versed in theology.
Friday, October 23, 2009
1859: An Outpouring of the Spirit Then & Today - Mack Tomlinson
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1859: An Outpouring of the Spirit of God Then and Today
In 1859, an evident movement of the Spirit of God brought an awakening to the area of Fordington in England, and other areas as well. This was during the powerful ministry of C. H. Spurgeon in London. Handley Moule said of the event:
Surely it was divine. No artificial means of excitement were even dreamed of; no powerful personality, no D. L. Moody came to us. A city missionary and a London Bible woman were the only helpers from a distance. Up and down the village the pastor and the faithful helpers, as they went around, they found those who were anxious about their souls. And the church was filled to overflowing, as was the large school room, night after night throughout the week.
The very simplest means carried with them a heavenly power. The plain reading of a chapter of Scripture often conveyed the call of God to men and women, and they 'came to Jesus as they were'. I do not think I exaggerate when I say that hundreds of people at that time were awakened, were in awe, and were made conscious of eternal realities. And a goodly number of these showed in their life afterward that they were indeed new creatures.
- Handley Moule
The encouraging reality about the promise and hope of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit is this-- it is not dependent on Christians preparing enough, praying enough, becoming serious enough, or 'paying the price' to see it happen. Indeed, all believers are to be seeking God, praying and walking in obedience. But revival occurring is not based upon 'preparationism'-- "if we can do things well enough, repent enough, increase our obedience enough, and pray enough, then God will answer."
This is simply wrong; it is not only wrong, but such a view, if believed consistently, will result in either spiritual pride (thinking we have earned God's blessing somehow by our obedience), frustration, or bondage and defeat. There have been many sincere preachers, as well as Christians in general, who burned out on the message of revival because they sincerely tried to do all they were told to do over a period of time, only to see no results in terms of a revival coming. This genders unbelief, or at best, an abandoning of any hope that revival can happen.
The clear truth in history is this-- at set times and according to His sovereign and gracious purposes, God suddenly arises in power and pours out the power of the Holy Spirit in places where He chooses. The church cannot earn it, deserve it, and neither can the church ever prepare enough for it to happen.
"And the Lord, whom you seek, shall SUDDENLY come to his temple" - Mal. 3:1
"SUDDENLY there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind"- Acts 2:2
The basic fact which must govern all views of revival, is that God really is absolutely sovereign in His ways regarding when and how He pours our His Spirit. The preparation and obedience of the church are the result and fruit of the drawings of the Spirit, not the cause of the coming of the Spirit.
But immediately someone will say: "Well, if God really is sovereign in the matter of revival, then you are saying we ought to just lay back and do nothing", to which I reply, "I have said nothing of the kind nor do I believe that." Here is where we become faulty in our thinking. Even if some say they believe God is sovereign, they still believe somehow revival lies within our responsibility by our sanctified efforts. This is a wrong position that has poisoned our understanding of the historic view of revival. Revival is not the church's responsibility, but rather is God's responsibility. Our responsibility is to live the Christian life, preach the gospel, and walk in obedience to Christ fully. God can then send a revival anywhere He chooses.
The truth is, every true Christian is seeking to obey the Lord, desires and prays for revival, and wants to walk with God. All believers are to do all those things all the time with a sincere and obedient heart. But an increase of these areas of sanctification, which are the normal Christian life, will not at all necessarily cause a revival to come. What A. W. Tozer said years ago is certainly true: "There is so much prayer for revival among believers widely in America, that if it depended on the quantity of prayer, we would see revival break out widely this next Sunday; there is no shortage of concern or even prayer for revival."
Two godly and powerful preachers, who were traveling together for one month several years ago in a ministry preaching tour, were discussing the need for revival. One said to the other, "If believers became more serious, more prayerful, would truly repent of all known sin, and would concentrate in prayer completely, then we would see God move in revival power", to which his friend said, "All right; if that is true, then why don't we go rent a motel room, and not leave there until revival has come? We will cancel everything for weeks, stay here and pray until we see it happen." His friend thought a moment and then said, "Well, the real issue is, we must consider what the will of God is in such a decision." They decided they were not supposed to take that action.
Exactly. It is not God's will always to be sending a revival everywhere or at all times. It may come where God suddenly chooses to move or it may come where a people have been earnestly seeking God to pour out His Spirit. If it really does come down to the church's increased obedience, brokenness, and increased praying, then everyone who believes that ought to stop everything they are doing literally, ministry wise, and do nothing but pray for 10 hours a day or longer until revival comes because they have to believe, if they are consistent with their views, that revival depends on them.
Every Christian is to be walking with Jesus Christ daily in such a way that everyone around them knows they are real. But the hope for revival is not in our preparation, nor our readiness, nor our godliness, our obedience, nor anything else. All of these things believers are to be walking in because that is the real Christian life. The real hope about revival coming is the wonderful fact and sovereign promise of God that anywhere, anytime, Christ can suddenly pour out His presence in reviving grace and when He does, revival happens. It often and usually comes suddenly, unexpectedly, and everyone is surprised.
So what are we to do? Love Christ, seek Christ, preach a doctrinally pure and Spirit-anointed gospel regularly, diligently walk with Him, believe His promises, be faithful in church attendance, and walk in obedience. That is not the revived life--that is the normal Christian life. And then we especially and always ought to be asking God to send the promise of the Father--the outpouring of His Spirit, as Luke 11:13 encourages us.
- Mack Tomlinson
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Carson on Worship
Although there are things that can be done to enhance corporate worship, there is a profound sense in which excellent worship cannot be attained merely by pursuing excellent worship. In the same way that, according to Jesus, you cannot find yourself until you lose yourself, so also you cannot find excellent corporate worship until you stop trying to find excellent corporate worship and pursue God himself. Despite the protestations, one sometimes wonders if we are beginning to worship worship rather than worship God. As a brother put it to me, it’s a bit like those who begin by admiring the sunset and soon begin to admire themselves admiring the sunset.
D.A. Carson Worship By The Book, 30-31
D.A. Carson Worship By The Book, 30-31
What About Reading? - Mack Tomlinson
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Daily Thoughts: What About Reading?
I received an excellent question from a dear friend of mine concerning what is the best approach for reading good books. Here are his questions and then my reply.
"Dear Bro. Mack,
You've been reading good books for a long time now. If you could go back and do all of your reading over again would you do anything different? Read different books? More books? Less books? More books by the same author? Take better notes? Forget taking notes? I think you get the gist of my question."
You've been reading good books for a long time now. If you could go back and do all of your reading over again would you do anything different? Read different books? More books? Less books? More books by the same author? Take better notes? Forget taking notes? I think you get the gist of my question."
My reply
Dear brother,
Reading! What a gift, what a discipline, what a benefit, what a friend, what an important thing!
What would I say?
1. I would read more systematically. What I mean is I would always be reading something in a planned way, setting aside time for scheduled reading regardless of my situation or schedule. On family vacations or trips away, I would choose a specific book you have been wanting to read and haven't gotten to it yet. Then read the whole thing while gone.
2. I would read more prayerfully. Spend more time praying about what book I am to read next because some books we are not ready for or they will not benefit us right now like they would in the future; so I want to read now what God would have me read now; and also praying as I read through a book, that the Holy Spirit will give me from it what I need. I am not just trying to fill my head or increase in knowledge; I am wanting to be taught of God.
3. I would read with more balance. Read broadly and mix up my subject reading more; I would read biography, then theology, a book on prayer, a New Testament work, an Old Testament work, church history, the best apologetics, biblical theology, etc, spreading it out; it is easy to read only what we most enjoy and that isn't best for us in the long scheme of things; somewhat related, I would also read some influential books that are liberal or totally wrong if particular books are really influencing people around me; an example is that I read a good bit of The God Delusion by Dawkins several months ago; I did it purposely since it was so popular and was having a so-called impact widely; I gained insight into the arguments and it helped me know how they think and what they arguments are.
4. I would read with more discernment. What I mean is, if I am reading a book and truly not understanding it or its a real drugery and not benefiting my soul, then I would put it down and take it up later; if the same thing happens again when I read it, I take it from the Lord that the book is not for me.
5. I would come to a knowledge of the very best authors in all of church history, including those still alive, and I would read everything they wrote. All of Bunyan, all of Tozer, all of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, all of J. C. Ryle, all of Francis Schaeffer, John Piper, Sinclair Ferguson, etc; we want to see the minds and heart of the best men who have lived; only read bad authors when it has a very specific purpose, like having to read a popular emergent author to really know their position; but normally stay away from reading dangerous authors or shallow ones; the shallow ones are popular, but they really only give you cotton-candy theology and not meat to make you stronger.
6. I would set a goal to read through some men's works--John Bunyan, John Newton, John Murray, etc; read systematically through their writings over a period of time. I have told some young men the greatest theological education they could get would be to get the 3 vols of Bunyan and take a year or more to study them closely; it would be the education of a life time; he's the best, in my opinion.
7. I have never taken notes in my own reading, but that's probably because I lacked the discipline to do it; the best way for that would be to get some notebooks and to summarize a book in the notes as you go through it; probably would retain much more from the book.
8. I would each year plan a break from books (say, 1 month out of each year) and during that time, I read only the Bible and concentrate on prayer. Take an annual sabbatical from reading books.
9. I would focus primarily on books that are experiential, that feed me spiritually. We don't need books that are merely informative and that give out information, but we do primarily need food for the heart that draws us to Christ and spurs us to godliness and holy living.
Hope this is helpful in some way.
Happy reading !
-- Mack Tomlinson
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Remembering God - David Powlison
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“What one thing about God in Christ speaks directly into today’s trouble? … Just as we don’t change all at once, so we don’t swallow all of truth in one gulp. We are simple people. You can’t remember ten things at once. Invariably, if you could remember just ONE true thing in the moment of trial, you’d be different. Bible “verses” aren’t magic. But God’s words are revelations of God from God for our redemption. When you actually remember God, you do not sin. The only way we ever sin is by suppressing God, by forgetting, by tuning out his voice, switching channels, and listening to other voices. When you actually remember, you actually change. In fact, remembering is the first change.”
- David Powlison
HT: Of First Importance
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Thursday, October 22, 2009
The "Antitheses" in the Sermon on the Mount - Stephen Westerholm
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Stephen Westerholm on the antitheses of Matthew 5:21-48:
In each case, Jesus distinguishes his own teaching (“But I say unto you...”) from what was “said to those of ancient times.” The suggestion that Jesus here merely interprets provisions in Torah comes to grief in those cases where he prohibits what Torah explicitly allowed (5:31-32, 33-37, 38-42). But it also fails to do justice to the contrast drawn in the antithetic formulation itself between ancient dictum and the authoritative declaration of Jesus: “You have heard...but I say.” Yet the contrast is not that between unrighteousness and righteousness, but that between limited statements of what God requires and its ultimate expression. Something of God's intention was, after all, captured in the prohibition of murder and adultery, in the laws related to divorce, oaths, and revenge: for that reason, Jesus is not seen as simply “doing away” with Torah's stipulations. But the “kingdom of heaven,” the antitheses insist, requires a righteousness that transcends conformity with these laws of Torah.
Part of the point appears to be that the focus of certain laws in Torah is limited to what is legally enforceable. Murder may be prohibited by law, and the prohibition is indeed essential to the smooth functioning of earthly societies. But God's will for his creatures is violated by angry assertions of self-will and contempt for others as much as by the act of killing (5:21-22). The Mosaic law forbids adultery; but regarding another lustfully, as a mere occasion for one's own sexual gratification, is equally sinful (5:27-28). The law made provision for divorce, for oaths, for equitable punishments: all measures designed to limit the effects of evil in society. But mere limiting of evil, though a worthy goal, does not measure up to the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven.
And there is more to be said. The goodness required in the Sermon on the Mount is not the same thing as careful compliance with even the most perfect and comprehensive code of law. Such observance, to be sure, contributes greatly to the order and stability of society. But, by itself, compliance with laws falls far short of the spontaneous selflessness, the uncalculated generosity, the unstinted love of God and all his creatures that God desires in his children (cf. Matt 5:39-48; 6:25-33; 18:21-22). The goodness of the kingdom is related to joy, to thankfulness, to appreciativeness, though none of these qualities need accompany the most fervent strivings to measure up to commands. It is the fruit of genuine, unselfconscious delight and whole-hearted trust in the goodness of God (cf. Matt 6:8, 25-33; 7:11). It requires, in Matthew's gospel, the radical reorientation of the human heart toward God brought about by the experience of the power and goodness of his kingdom: only “good trees” can bear “good fruit” (7:17). Jesus' ethical teaching in Matthew is more concerned to evoke a vision than to prescribe precise limits of acceptable behaviour: in poetic, dramatic, often hyperbolic language, the Matthean Jesus illustrates the kind of attitude and action that should characterize those who know themselves to be God's children.
-Taken from Westerholm's The Law and the Gospel
If anyone would like a copy of the complete article, please email me and I would be happy to provide one.
In each case, Jesus distinguishes his own teaching (“But I say unto you...”) from what was “said to those of ancient times.” The suggestion that Jesus here merely interprets provisions in Torah comes to grief in those cases where he prohibits what Torah explicitly allowed (5:31-32, 33-37, 38-42). But it also fails to do justice to the contrast drawn in the antithetic formulation itself between ancient dictum and the authoritative declaration of Jesus: “You have heard...but I say.” Yet the contrast is not that between unrighteousness and righteousness, but that between limited statements of what God requires and its ultimate expression. Something of God's intention was, after all, captured in the prohibition of murder and adultery, in the laws related to divorce, oaths, and revenge: for that reason, Jesus is not seen as simply “doing away” with Torah's stipulations. But the “kingdom of heaven,” the antitheses insist, requires a righteousness that transcends conformity with these laws of Torah.
Part of the point appears to be that the focus of certain laws in Torah is limited to what is legally enforceable. Murder may be prohibited by law, and the prohibition is indeed essential to the smooth functioning of earthly societies. But God's will for his creatures is violated by angry assertions of self-will and contempt for others as much as by the act of killing (5:21-22). The Mosaic law forbids adultery; but regarding another lustfully, as a mere occasion for one's own sexual gratification, is equally sinful (5:27-28). The law made provision for divorce, for oaths, for equitable punishments: all measures designed to limit the effects of evil in society. But mere limiting of evil, though a worthy goal, does not measure up to the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven.
And there is more to be said. The goodness required in the Sermon on the Mount is not the same thing as careful compliance with even the most perfect and comprehensive code of law. Such observance, to be sure, contributes greatly to the order and stability of society. But, by itself, compliance with laws falls far short of the spontaneous selflessness, the uncalculated generosity, the unstinted love of God and all his creatures that God desires in his children (cf. Matt 5:39-48; 6:25-33; 18:21-22). The goodness of the kingdom is related to joy, to thankfulness, to appreciativeness, though none of these qualities need accompany the most fervent strivings to measure up to commands. It is the fruit of genuine, unselfconscious delight and whole-hearted trust in the goodness of God (cf. Matt 6:8, 25-33; 7:11). It requires, in Matthew's gospel, the radical reorientation of the human heart toward God brought about by the experience of the power and goodness of his kingdom: only “good trees” can bear “good fruit” (7:17). Jesus' ethical teaching in Matthew is more concerned to evoke a vision than to prescribe precise limits of acceptable behaviour: in poetic, dramatic, often hyperbolic language, the Matthean Jesus illustrates the kind of attitude and action that should characterize those who know themselves to be God's children.
-Taken from Westerholm's The Law and the Gospel
If anyone would like a copy of the complete article, please email me and I would be happy to provide one.
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Teachers and Teaching
When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:34)
I was exhorted by this account. Note the order in this passage: The compassion of Christ precedes his desire to teach. There is a great difference between loving teaching for teaching's sake and loving people. The former finds his happiness in a well-formed discourse. If the content is delivered smoothly in a well-order homily, he feels he has been successful. Not so with Christ. He is constrained by the burden of love to shepherd souls. He sees the people being "destroyed because of a lack of knowledge." Delivering a "good" sermon is the last thing on His mind. He is after souls, and He refuses to rest or relent until all of the sheep are safe in the fold. Paul sums this up in Colossians 1:28. "We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ" (emphasis mine). I'm praying for more reality in this.
I was exhorted by this account. Note the order in this passage: The compassion of Christ precedes his desire to teach. There is a great difference between loving teaching for teaching's sake and loving people. The former finds his happiness in a well-formed discourse. If the content is delivered smoothly in a well-order homily, he feels he has been successful. Not so with Christ. He is constrained by the burden of love to shepherd souls. He sees the people being "destroyed because of a lack of knowledge." Delivering a "good" sermon is the last thing on His mind. He is after souls, and He refuses to rest or relent until all of the sheep are safe in the fold. Paul sums this up in Colossians 1:28. "We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ" (emphasis mine). I'm praying for more reality in this.
It Happened In a Prayer Meeting - Mack T
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What is the use of a prayer meeting? There are many uses. Believers are encouraged and strengthened; the cause of God is maintained; the truth of God is watered after it is sown; and prosperity is rained down through the opened windows of heaven, according to the Lord's promise.
In the beginning of the year 1799, Thomas Charles of Bala, in Wales, lost a thumb through frostbite. Alarming symptoms arose, and his friends feared that his life was in danger. A special prayer meeting was appointed. Fervent supplications were offered to God on his behalf.
It Happened in a Prayer Meeting
What is the use of a prayer meeting? There are many uses. Believers are encouraged and strengthened; the cause of God is maintained; the truth of God is watered after it is sown; and prosperity is rained down through the opened windows of heaven, according to the Lord's promise.
In the beginning of the year 1799, Thomas Charles of Bala, in Wales, lost a thumb through frostbite. Alarming symptoms arose, and his friends feared that his life was in danger. A special prayer meeting was appointed. Fervent supplications were offered to God on his behalf.
One person in particular, an old man, was much noticed for his very importunate prayer. Referring to the fifteen years added to Hezekiah's life, he entreated the Lord to spare Mr. Charles' life at least fifteen years. He repeated the following words with such importunity that his prayer greatly affected all who were present: 'Fifteen years more, O Lord! We beseech Thee to add fifteen years more to the life of Thy servant. And wilt Thou not, oh our God, give fifteen years more, for the sake of Thy church and Thy cause?'
The prayers of the people were heard, and Mr. Charles set to work again with renewed vigour. He often said he must be diligent, as the fifteen years would soon be up.
As this period drew near to its close, he frequently named it in conversation; and about a year before his death, he spoke freely and fully to the poor man who in 1799 had so fervently asked God to prolong his life. He often expressed a desire to live to see his Welsh Bible printed: 'Then I will be content,' he said, 'to lie my head upon my pillow and die.' He did live to see it completed; and the last words he ever wrote were: 'It is finished,' in reference to that. And, what is remarkable, he died within a week of the close of fifteen years from the date of the poor man's prayer.
It was during this term of fifteen years that Mr. Charles did the most important work of his life - labour that bears fruit all over the world to the present day. He wrote several books, organized Sunday schools throughout Wales, translated the Bible into Welsh, and was instrumental, with others, in the establishment of the Bible Society. It was through him that Wales was supplied with the Word of God; and many distant lands have blessed the name of Thomas Charles. Who can tell the full results of that fervent prayer of that Welsh Christian? This, remember, was at a prayer meeting.
The prayers of the people were heard, and Mr. Charles set to work again with renewed vigour. He often said he must be diligent, as the fifteen years would soon be up.
As this period drew near to its close, he frequently named it in conversation; and about a year before his death, he spoke freely and fully to the poor man who in 1799 had so fervently asked God to prolong his life. He often expressed a desire to live to see his Welsh Bible printed: 'Then I will be content,' he said, 'to lie my head upon my pillow and die.' He did live to see it completed; and the last words he ever wrote were: 'It is finished,' in reference to that. And, what is remarkable, he died within a week of the close of fifteen years from the date of the poor man's prayer.
It was during this term of fifteen years that Mr. Charles did the most important work of his life - labour that bears fruit all over the world to the present day. He wrote several books, organized Sunday schools throughout Wales, translated the Bible into Welsh, and was instrumental, with others, in the establishment of the Bible Society. It was through him that Wales was supplied with the Word of God; and many distant lands have blessed the name of Thomas Charles. Who can tell the full results of that fervent prayer of that Welsh Christian? This, remember, was at a prayer meeting.
- John Morgan Jones, Wales
Many of the references to prayer in the book of Acts are references to the corporate prayer meeting of the church.
'They gathered--they prayed--they lifted up their voice to God--they were devoted to prayer," etc. It was group praying, believers gathered for prayer. Why was this so and why is it so important to God?
None of us know what God might be doing through our regular and faithful attendance at the prayer meetings of our church. If your church has a weekly prayer meeting, you should attend faithfully, if at all possible. Burdens are lifted, hearts are strengthened, believers are edified, and needs are met, even around the world, simply through the prayers of the saints. God often does more through a weekly prayer meeting of a church that is ever done in bigger meetings or conferences.
The big test of a church is its prayer meeting. Any church that does not have a regular prayer meeting is basically saying to the Lord, "Thanks for the offer of grace, but we can handle things fine ourselves."
-- Mack Tomlinson
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Gentleness of Jesus - J. R. Miller
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The gentleness of Jesus
(J. R. Miller, "Things to Live For" 1896)
"Learn from Me--for I am gentle and humble in heart." Matthew 11:29
(J. R. Miller, "Things to Live For" 1896)
"Learn from Me--for I am gentle and humble in heart." Matthew 11:29
Of the gentleness of Jesus it was said, "He will not break a bruised reed, and He will not put out a smoldering wick." Isaiah 42:3. There is nothing that this sorrowing, sinning world needs--more than gentleness. Yet, there are some Christians who seem never to have learned love's secret of gentleness.
We need to pray for the grace of gentleness, that we may walk softly among men, never hurting another life by harsh words or ungentle acts.
We can have something of the beauty of Christ in our life. As we can get into our hearts the grace of the Lord Jesus, and the mind that was in Jesus--the light of divine love will shine out from our dull nature, and transfigure it. This will make us sweet-tempered and gentle-spirited. It will make us honest in our dealings with our fellow-men. It will make us kind to all about us. It will make us godly people to live with at home. It will make us good neighbors and faithful friends. The unconscious ministry of such a life through long years--will leave untold blessings in this world.
Such a life of quiet, simple, humble, Christlike goodness--will pour out its unconscious influence into other lives--making them better, happier, holier, sweeter. Such a ministry of simple goodness is within the reach of every Christian. It requires no brilliant gifts, and no great wealth. It is a ministry which the plainest and lowliest may fulfill.
In these days of 'fashionable worldliness', the church needs just such simple goodness. It has eloquence in its pulpits, and activity in its pews--but it needs more godly people filled with the gentleness of Christ, repeating the life of Christ wherever they move.
HT: Grace Gems
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The Throne of Heavenly Grace - C. H. Spurgeon
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“The nearest place to the gate of heaven is the throne of the heavenly grace. Much alone, and you will have much assurance; little alone with Jesus, your religion will be shallow, polluted with many doubts and fears, and not sparkling with the joy of the Lord. Since the soul-enriching path of prayer is open to the very weakest saint; since no high attainments are required; since you are not bidden to come because you are an advanced saint, but freely invited if you be a saint at all; see to it, dear reader, that you are often in the way of private devotion. Be much on your knees, for so Elijah drew the rain upon famished Israel’s fields.”
- Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening, October 18
HT: Of First Importance
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Recommended Sermons
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Any Christian reading this blog knows that the internet is FULL of resources for believers, whether sermons or articles or books. The sheer amount of material is daunting, and it can become a difficult task to separate the chaff from the wheat. So for what it's worth, I wanted to direct your attention to two sermons I have listened to recently that I feel are uncommonly good. Both were given by Ryan Fullerton, who pastors Immanuel Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Love of God - Various Texts
Gospel Interrogation - Galatians 3:1-5
More of Ryan's messages can be found HERE.
The Love of God - Various Texts
Gospel Interrogation - Galatians 3:1-5
More of Ryan's messages can be found HERE.
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The Prayer of a Man of God
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And now, Righteous Lord God Almighty, I would not attempt to conceal any of my actual transgressions, however vile and shameful they are, but would penitently confess them before You; and would plead in my defence, nothing but the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died, the just for the unjust, to bring us near to God. For His sake alone do I ask or expect the rich blessings necessary to my salvation. For although I am unworthy, He is most worthy; though I have no righteousness, He has provided by His expiatory death, and by His holy life, a complete justifying righteousness, in which spotless robe I pray that I may be clothed; so that Thou my righteous Judge, wilt see no sin in me, but wilt acquit me from every accusation, and justify me freely by Thy grace, through the righteousness of my Lord and Saviour, with whom You are ever well pleased.
My earnest prayer is, that Jesus may save me from my sins, as well as from their punishment; that I may be redeemed from all iniquity, as well as from the condemnation of the law; that the work of sanctification may be carried on in my soul by Thy Word and Spirit, until it be perfected at Your appointed time. And grant, O Lord, that as long as I am in the body, I may make it my constant study and chief aim to glorify Your name, both with soul and body, which are no longer mine, but Yours; for I am 'bought with a price' [1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23] — not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Enable me to let my light so shine, that others, seeing my good works, may be led to glorify Your name. Make use of me as an humble instrument of advancing Thy kingdom on earth, and promoting the salvation of immortal souls. If You have appointed sufferings for me here below, I beseech You to consider my weakness, and let Your chastisements be those of a loving Father, that I may be made a partaker of Your holiness. And let me not be tempted above what I am able to bear, but with the temptation make a way of escape.
O most merciful God, cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength declineth. Now, when I am old and grey-headed, forsake me not; but let Your grace be sufficient for me; and enable me to bring forth fruit, even in old age. May my hoary head be found in the ways of righteousness! Preserve my mind from dotage and imbecility, and my body from protracted disease and excruciating pain. Deliver me from despondency and discouragement in my declining years, and enable me to bear affliction with patience, fortitude, and perfect submission to Your holy will. Lift upon me perpetually the light of Your reconciled countenance, and cause me to rejoice in Your salvation, and in the hope of Your glory. May the peace that passeth all understanding be constantly diffused through my soul, so that my mind may remain calm through all the storms and vicissitudes of life.
As, in the course of nature, I must be drawing near to my end, and as I know I must soon put off this tabernacle, I do humbly and earnestly beseech You, O Father of mercies, to prepare me for this inevitable and solemn event: Fortify my mind against the terrors of death. Give me, if it please You, an easy passage through the gate of death. Dissipate the dark clouds and mists which naturally hang over the grave, and lead me gently down into the gloomy valley. O my kind Shepherd, who hast tasted the bitterness of death for me, and who knowest how to sympathize with and succour the sheep of Your pasture, please be present to guide, to support, and to comfort me. Illumine with beams of heavenly light the valley and shadow of death, so that I may fear no evil. When my heart and flesh fail, be the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
The Prayer of a Man of God
Most merciful God, I rejoice that You reign over the universe with a sovereign sway, so that You do according to Thy will, in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. You are the Maker of my body, and Father of my spirit, and have a perfect right to dispose of me in whatever way which will most effectually promote Your glory: and I know that whatever You do is right, wise and just and good. And whatever may be my eternal destiny, I rejoice in the assurance that Your great name will be glorified in me.
But as You have been pleased to reveal Your mercy and grace to our fallen miserable world; and as the word of this salvation has been preached unto me, inviting me to accept eternal life upon the gracious terms of the Gospel, I do cordially receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour and only Redeemer, believing sincerely the whole testimony which You have given respecting His divine character, His real incarnation, His unspotted and holy life, His numerous and beneficent miracles, His expiatory and meritorious death, and His glorious resurrection and ascension. I believe, also, in His supreme exaltation, in His prevalent intercession for His chosen people, in His affectionate care and aid afforded to His suffering children here below, and in His second coming to receive His humble followers to dwell with Himself in heaven; and to take vengeance on His obstinate enemies.
My only hope and confidence of being saved rests simply on the mediatorial work and prevailing intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ; in consequence of which the Holy Spirit is graciously sent to make application of Christ's redemption, by working faith in us, and repentance unto life; and rendering us meet for the heavenly inheritance, by sanctifying us in the whole man, soul, body, and spirit.
Grant, gracious God, that the rich blessings of the new covenant may be freely bestowed on Your unworthy servant. I acknowledge that I have no claim to Your favor on account of any goodness in me by nature; for alas! there dwelleth in me, that is, in my flesh, no good thing! nor on account of any works of righteousness done by me; for all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Neither am I able to make atonement for any one of my innumerable transgressions which, I confess before You, are not only many in number, but heinous in their nature, justly deserving Your displeasure and wrath; so that if I were immediately sent to hell, You would be altogether just in my condemnation.
My only hope and confidence of being saved rests simply on the mediatorial work and prevailing intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ; in consequence of which the Holy Spirit is graciously sent to make application of Christ's redemption, by working faith in us, and repentance unto life; and rendering us meet for the heavenly inheritance, by sanctifying us in the whole man, soul, body, and spirit.
Grant, gracious God, that the rich blessings of the new covenant may be freely bestowed on Your unworthy servant. I acknowledge that I have no claim to Your favor on account of any goodness in me by nature; for alas! there dwelleth in me, that is, in my flesh, no good thing! nor on account of any works of righteousness done by me; for all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Neither am I able to make atonement for any one of my innumerable transgressions which, I confess before You, are not only many in number, but heinous in their nature, justly deserving Your displeasure and wrath; so that if I were immediately sent to hell, You would be altogether just in my condemnation.
And now, Righteous Lord God Almighty, I would not attempt to conceal any of my actual transgressions, however vile and shameful they are, but would penitently confess them before You; and would plead in my defence, nothing but the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died, the just for the unjust, to bring us near to God. For His sake alone do I ask or expect the rich blessings necessary to my salvation. For although I am unworthy, He is most worthy; though I have no righteousness, He has provided by His expiatory death, and by His holy life, a complete justifying righteousness, in which spotless robe I pray that I may be clothed; so that Thou my righteous Judge, wilt see no sin in me, but wilt acquit me from every accusation, and justify me freely by Thy grace, through the righteousness of my Lord and Saviour, with whom You are ever well pleased.
My earnest prayer is, that Jesus may save me from my sins, as well as from their punishment; that I may be redeemed from all iniquity, as well as from the condemnation of the law; that the work of sanctification may be carried on in my soul by Thy Word and Spirit, until it be perfected at Your appointed time. And grant, O Lord, that as long as I am in the body, I may make it my constant study and chief aim to glorify Your name, both with soul and body, which are no longer mine, but Yours; for I am 'bought with a price' [1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23] — not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Enable me to let my light so shine, that others, seeing my good works, may be led to glorify Your name. Make use of me as an humble instrument of advancing Thy kingdom on earth, and promoting the salvation of immortal souls. If You have appointed sufferings for me here below, I beseech You to consider my weakness, and let Your chastisements be those of a loving Father, that I may be made a partaker of Your holiness. And let me not be tempted above what I am able to bear, but with the temptation make a way of escape.
O most merciful God, cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength declineth. Now, when I am old and grey-headed, forsake me not; but let Your grace be sufficient for me; and enable me to bring forth fruit, even in old age. May my hoary head be found in the ways of righteousness! Preserve my mind from dotage and imbecility, and my body from protracted disease and excruciating pain. Deliver me from despondency and discouragement in my declining years, and enable me to bear affliction with patience, fortitude, and perfect submission to Your holy will. Lift upon me perpetually the light of Your reconciled countenance, and cause me to rejoice in Your salvation, and in the hope of Your glory. May the peace that passeth all understanding be constantly diffused through my soul, so that my mind may remain calm through all the storms and vicissitudes of life.
As, in the course of nature, I must be drawing near to my end, and as I know I must soon put off this tabernacle, I do humbly and earnestly beseech You, O Father of mercies, to prepare me for this inevitable and solemn event: Fortify my mind against the terrors of death. Give me, if it please You, an easy passage through the gate of death. Dissipate the dark clouds and mists which naturally hang over the grave, and lead me gently down into the gloomy valley. O my kind Shepherd, who hast tasted the bitterness of death for me, and who knowest how to sympathize with and succour the sheep of Your pasture, please be present to guide, to support, and to comfort me. Illumine with beams of heavenly light the valley and shadow of death, so that I may fear no evil. When my heart and flesh fail, be the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
Let not my courage fail in the trying hour. Permit not the great adversary to harass my soul in the last struggle, but make me a conqueror and more than a conqueror in this fearful conflict. I humbly ask that my reason may be continued to the last, and if it be Your will, that I may be so comforted and supported, that I may leave a testimony in favour of the reality of religion, and Your faithfulness in fulfilling Your gracious promises; and that others of Your servants who may follow after may be encouraged by my example to commit themselves boldly to the guidance and keeping of the Shepherd of Israel.
And when my spirit leaves this clay tenement, Lord Jesus, receive it. Send some of the blessed angels to convoy my inexperienced soul to the mansion which Your love has prepared. And O! let me be so situated, though in the lowest rank, that I may behold Your glory. May I have an abundant entrance administered unto me into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; for whose sake, and in whose name, I ask all these things. Amen.
And when my spirit leaves this clay tenement, Lord Jesus, receive it. Send some of the blessed angels to convoy my inexperienced soul to the mansion which Your love has prepared. And O! let me be so situated, though in the lowest rank, that I may behold Your glory. May I have an abundant entrance administered unto me into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; for whose sake, and in whose name, I ask all these things. Amen.
-- Archibald Alexander
HT: Mack T
HT: Mack T
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The Godliness of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Part 2
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3. GUIDANCE AND KNOWING THE WILL OF GOD
Dr Lloyd-Jones acknowledges that this is not as easy as it sounds. He acknowledges, “I was for over two years in a state of uncertainty and indecision before leaving medicine for the pulpit. But in the end it was made absolutely and perfectly clear, mainly by means of things which God did. These are the rules which I would advise you to observe:
4. EXPERIENCES OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD
When he was 26 years of age in Easter 1925, he was alone one day in the small study he shared with his brother Vincent in their Regency Street home. There “he came to see the love of God expressed in the death of Christ in a way which overwhelmed him. Everything which happened to him in his new spiritual life was occurring because of what had first happened to Christ. It was solely to that death that he owed his new relationship to God. The truth amazed him and in the light of it he could only say with Isaac Watts:
"Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
Iain Murray records and suggests that that was not an isolated incident. The Doctor himself told me that in his room at Bart’s he had some great times, and he has gone on record, “I must say that in that little study at our home in Regency Street, and in my research room at Bart’s, I had some remarkable experiences. It was entirely God’s doing. I have known what it is to be really filled with a joy unspeakable and full of glory”
It is in the light of this that we must approach his exhortations to know a baptism with the Holy Spirit. That this did not manifest itself in tongue speaking we know because he wrote to an inquirer very plainly, “I have never spoken in tongues either in private or in public.” So the Doctor could not be described as a Pentecostal because their definition of the evidence for the baptism of the Spirit is made in that precise way. What then would be the signs and manifestations of baptism with the Spirit in Lloyd-Jones' judgment?
In the book Joy Unspeakable he gives six marks:
1. a sense of God’s glory and presence
2. an assurance of God’s love for us in Christ
3. the element of joy and gladness
The Godliness of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Part 2
Dr Lloyd-Jones acknowledges that this is not as easy as it sounds. He acknowledges, “I was for over two years in a state of uncertainty and indecision before leaving medicine for the pulpit. But in the end it was made absolutely and perfectly clear, mainly by means of things which God did. These are the rules which I would advise you to observe:
1. Never speak to anyone about it. Don’t tell people what you are feeling and discuss it and ask for advice. That always leads to still more uncertainty and confusion. Make an absolute rule of this at all costs. Say nothing until you are absolutely certain, because we are all subject to self-suggestion.
2. Do not even think about it and discuss the pros and cons with yourself. Once more this leads to auto-suggestion and confusion. Believing as I do that God does ‘call’ very definitely, and in a distinct and definite doctrine of a call, and that a vocation is distinct from ‘the need is the call’ idea, I believe that God will always make His will and His way plain and clear. With reverence therefore, I say leave it to God entirely as regards purpose, time and all else. All you have to do is to tell God that you are content to do His will whatever it may be and, more, that you will rejoice to do His will.”
4. EXPERIENCES OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD
When he was 26 years of age in Easter 1925, he was alone one day in the small study he shared with his brother Vincent in their Regency Street home. There “he came to see the love of God expressed in the death of Christ in a way which overwhelmed him. Everything which happened to him in his new spiritual life was occurring because of what had first happened to Christ. It was solely to that death that he owed his new relationship to God. The truth amazed him and in the light of it he could only say with Isaac Watts:
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
Iain Murray records and suggests that that was not an isolated incident. The Doctor himself told me that in his room at Bart’s he had some great times, and he has gone on record, “I must say that in that little study at our home in Regency Street, and in my research room at Bart’s, I had some remarkable experiences. It was entirely God’s doing. I have known what it is to be really filled with a joy unspeakable and full of glory”
It is in the light of this that we must approach his exhortations to know a baptism with the Holy Spirit. That this did not manifest itself in tongue speaking we know because he wrote to an inquirer very plainly, “I have never spoken in tongues either in private or in public.” So the Doctor could not be described as a Pentecostal because their definition of the evidence for the baptism of the Spirit is made in that precise way. What then would be the signs and manifestations of baptism with the Spirit in Lloyd-Jones' judgment?
In the book Joy Unspeakable he gives six marks:
1. a sense of God’s glory and presence
2. an assurance of God’s love for us in Christ
3. the element of joy and gladness
4. love toward God
5. a desire to glorify the Father and the Son
6. light and understanding of the truth
This is what he was referring to when he told me that he had had ‘good times’ in his room at the hospital. He believed these times were an experience of baptism with the Holy Spirit. There is, for example, an incident that took place at Christmas 1929: “The memory of that night never faded for those who were present. Mrs Lloyd-Jones recalling it, said: ‘As we knelt in prayer, I seemed to be full of a warm golden glory, an indescribable joy and a hope that the consciousness we then enjoyed of the presence of God might never pass away.'”
Such experiences were not the prerogative of the study alone, or with members of one’s family, but also that in a church the Spirit of God could come upon a congregation gathered together praying. He recounts one such meeting, presumably in Aberavon, when a man got up to pray and it became clear that soon ‘something most extraordinary’ was taking place; “ . . . suddenly this man was entirely transformed; his voice deepened, a power came into it, even in his speech, and he prayed in the freest most powerful manner I have ever heard in my life . . . the prayer meeting continued without intermission and the freedom that had accompanied this man’s prayer was given to all the others . . . one felt that one was outside time, that one was in heaven; one was really lifted up to the spiritual realm.” One thinks of some of the prayer meetings of ministers gathered at Bala in Wales in the annual conference where such experiences might be occasionally known.
It is for preachers to know such immediate experience of this grace that the Doctor is most exercised, to have a baptism which enables him to preach powerfully and movingly. He longs that the gospel of Jesus Christ should come propelled to their hearers through Spirit-filled men. How do we preachers recognise this when it is happening? He replies, “It gives clarity of thought, clarity of speech, ease of utterance, a great sense of authority and confidence as you are preaching, an awareness of a power not your own thrilling through the whole of your being, and an indescribable sense of joy. You are a man ‘possessed’, you are taken hold of, and taken up. I like to put it like this — and I know of nothing on earth that is comparable to this feeling — that when this happens you have a feeling that you are not actually doing the preaching, you are looking on. You are looking on at yourself in amazement as this is happening. It is not your effort; you are just the instrument, the channel, the vehicle: and the Spirit is using you, and you are looking on in great enjoyment and astonishment. There is nothing that is in any way comparable to this. That is what the preacher himself is aware of. What about the people? They sense it at once; they can tell the difference immediately. They are gripped, they become serious, they are convicted, they are moved, they are humbled. Some are convicted of sin, others are lifted up to the heavens, anything may happen to any one of them. They know at once that something quite unusual and exceptional is happening. As a result they begin to delight in the things of God and they want more and more teaching.”
Such experiences while preaching the Word had been his from the beginning to the end of his ministry. In a letter written when he was 26 to his future brother-in-law Ieuan Philips, he described speaking in his church in London and records, “It is not for me to say anything about the paper – all I shall say is this. The people who count at Charing Cross all liked it, while I myself was moved to an extent that I have never experienced before.”
From his gatherings of similar experiences of preachers from the Puritan time until today, Lloyd-Jones is firmly in the tradition of experiential Calvinism. He was not a ‘closet Charismatic.’ His godliness reflected that whole living tradition of intense personal communion with God, power in prayer and in preaching. No ‘sign gift’ was ever insisted upon or even suggested. He was a cessationist; for example for him there was no possibility or need of the gift of apostles being bestowed again upon the church. It was a foundational gift which, when Scripture had been written, ceased to exist. The living Bible was enough; “There is thus no successor to the apostles. By definition, there never can be or has been a successor to the apostles.” That was also his conviction for prophets and evangelists. There is thus only the remotest connection between himself and the supporters of the Charismatic Renewal movement, a coincidence of terminology. When we protested to him about his use of the phrase ‘baptism of the Spirit’ because of its takeover by Pentecostals and Charismatics, he replied that our fathers had used it in the way he was using it and that though it might have been hijacked by others, he was not going to cease using that phrase. There was nothing in his teaching that would have been heretical to preachers from Calvin through to Kuyper. The great theme of his book of sermons on the gifts of the Spirit, Prove all Things, is not anti-cessationism but the sovereignty of the Spirit in his operations.
If preachers today went to the Doctor and described to him their experiences of the help of the Spirit of God as they prayed and preached, he would assure them, as he did to virtually all, both the students and older men who went to him in London and described what had happened to him, that they had had a baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then let us pace ourselves for the marathon of a life in the ministry, pastoring wisely men and women with their enormous problems, growing in understanding of the truth, becoming more evangelistically fervent and all the more so as we see the Day approaching.
Unless our experiences of God serve to exalt that God before men, we are guilty of a self-indulgent piety. Let me end with my favourite quotation from Lloyd-Jones’ book on preaching. I am sure it is often quoted as giving to ministers the great end of their preaching: “There is one thing I have looked for and longed for and desired. I can forgive a man for a bad sermon; I can forgive the preacher almost anything if he gives me a sense of God, if he gives me something for my soul, if he gives me the sense that, though he is inadequate himself, he is handling something which is very great and very glorious, if he gives me some dim glimpse of the majesty and the glory of God, the love of Christ my Saviour, and the magnificence of the Gospel. If he does that I am his debtor, and I am profoundly grateful to him. Preaching is the most amazing and the most thrilling activity that one can ever be engaged in, because of all that it holds out for all of us in the present, and because of the glorious endless possibilities in an eternal future.”
5. a desire to glorify the Father and the Son
6. light and understanding of the truth
This is what he was referring to when he told me that he had had ‘good times’ in his room at the hospital. He believed these times were an experience of baptism with the Holy Spirit. There is, for example, an incident that took place at Christmas 1929: “The memory of that night never faded for those who were present. Mrs Lloyd-Jones recalling it, said: ‘As we knelt in prayer, I seemed to be full of a warm golden glory, an indescribable joy and a hope that the consciousness we then enjoyed of the presence of God might never pass away.'”
Such experiences were not the prerogative of the study alone, or with members of one’s family, but also that in a church the Spirit of God could come upon a congregation gathered together praying. He recounts one such meeting, presumably in Aberavon, when a man got up to pray and it became clear that soon ‘something most extraordinary’ was taking place; “ . . . suddenly this man was entirely transformed; his voice deepened, a power came into it, even in his speech, and he prayed in the freest most powerful manner I have ever heard in my life . . . the prayer meeting continued without intermission and the freedom that had accompanied this man’s prayer was given to all the others . . . one felt that one was outside time, that one was in heaven; one was really lifted up to the spiritual realm.” One thinks of some of the prayer meetings of ministers gathered at Bala in Wales in the annual conference where such experiences might be occasionally known.
It is for preachers to know such immediate experience of this grace that the Doctor is most exercised, to have a baptism which enables him to preach powerfully and movingly. He longs that the gospel of Jesus Christ should come propelled to their hearers through Spirit-filled men. How do we preachers recognise this when it is happening? He replies, “It gives clarity of thought, clarity of speech, ease of utterance, a great sense of authority and confidence as you are preaching, an awareness of a power not your own thrilling through the whole of your being, and an indescribable sense of joy. You are a man ‘possessed’, you are taken hold of, and taken up. I like to put it like this — and I know of nothing on earth that is comparable to this feeling — that when this happens you have a feeling that you are not actually doing the preaching, you are looking on. You are looking on at yourself in amazement as this is happening. It is not your effort; you are just the instrument, the channel, the vehicle: and the Spirit is using you, and you are looking on in great enjoyment and astonishment. There is nothing that is in any way comparable to this. That is what the preacher himself is aware of. What about the people? They sense it at once; they can tell the difference immediately. They are gripped, they become serious, they are convicted, they are moved, they are humbled. Some are convicted of sin, others are lifted up to the heavens, anything may happen to any one of them. They know at once that something quite unusual and exceptional is happening. As a result they begin to delight in the things of God and they want more and more teaching.”
Such experiences while preaching the Word had been his from the beginning to the end of his ministry. In a letter written when he was 26 to his future brother-in-law Ieuan Philips, he described speaking in his church in London and records, “It is not for me to say anything about the paper – all I shall say is this. The people who count at Charing Cross all liked it, while I myself was moved to an extent that I have never experienced before.”
From his gatherings of similar experiences of preachers from the Puritan time until today, Lloyd-Jones is firmly in the tradition of experiential Calvinism. He was not a ‘closet Charismatic.’ His godliness reflected that whole living tradition of intense personal communion with God, power in prayer and in preaching. No ‘sign gift’ was ever insisted upon or even suggested. He was a cessationist; for example for him there was no possibility or need of the gift of apostles being bestowed again upon the church. It was a foundational gift which, when Scripture had been written, ceased to exist. The living Bible was enough; “There is thus no successor to the apostles. By definition, there never can be or has been a successor to the apostles.” That was also his conviction for prophets and evangelists. There is thus only the remotest connection between himself and the supporters of the Charismatic Renewal movement, a coincidence of terminology. When we protested to him about his use of the phrase ‘baptism of the Spirit’ because of its takeover by Pentecostals and Charismatics, he replied that our fathers had used it in the way he was using it and that though it might have been hijacked by others, he was not going to cease using that phrase. There was nothing in his teaching that would have been heretical to preachers from Calvin through to Kuyper. The great theme of his book of sermons on the gifts of the Spirit, Prove all Things, is not anti-cessationism but the sovereignty of the Spirit in his operations.
If preachers today went to the Doctor and described to him their experiences of the help of the Spirit of God as they prayed and preached, he would assure them, as he did to virtually all, both the students and older men who went to him in London and described what had happened to him, that they had had a baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then let us pace ourselves for the marathon of a life in the ministry, pastoring wisely men and women with their enormous problems, growing in understanding of the truth, becoming more evangelistically fervent and all the more so as we see the Day approaching.
Unless our experiences of God serve to exalt that God before men, we are guilty of a self-indulgent piety. Let me end with my favourite quotation from Lloyd-Jones’ book on preaching. I am sure it is often quoted as giving to ministers the great end of their preaching: “There is one thing I have looked for and longed for and desired. I can forgive a man for a bad sermon; I can forgive the preacher almost anything if he gives me a sense of God, if he gives me something for my soul, if he gives me the sense that, though he is inadequate himself, he is handling something which is very great and very glorious, if he gives me some dim glimpse of the majesty and the glory of God, the love of Christ my Saviour, and the magnificence of the Gospel. If he does that I am his debtor, and I am profoundly grateful to him. Preaching is the most amazing and the most thrilling activity that one can ever be engaged in, because of all that it holds out for all of us in the present, and because of the glorious endless possibilities in an eternal future.”
-- Geoff Thomas
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The Godliness of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Part 1
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So here is a theme that appears to recur in Lloyd-Jones’ godliness, that of God’s constant dealings with the Christian, that he is our Father and deals familiarly with his children. Submit to the Spirit of God! Follow God’s promptings in Bible reading and prayer is what he is telling us. This is further seen in his counsels about understanding the will of God for your life.
The Godliness of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Part 1
[For those who know of and appreciate the British preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who died in 1981, these thoughts need no explanation or reasons as to why they can be beneficial. But for those not familiar with him and have never become acquainted with his ministry or books, I can only encourage you sincerely and earnestly to find his sermons online and listen to them, and also read his books. No theologian, pastor, preacher or author can help or instruct you any more than Martyn Lloyd-Jones. A good place to begin would be his book, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, or some of his volumes on Romans or Ephesians. So begin reading Lloyd-Jones-- it will do you much more good that all the popular authors today.
- Mack Tomlinson]
Dr. Lloyd-Jones would preach every two years in Aberystwyth, Wales [where Geoff Thomas pastors] and after one occasion I went to see him for morning coffee. It was a great treat for me to be with him alone. These occasions did not happen often. He always stayed in the home of a local doctor who, when he was a medical student in London, had been converted under Lloyd-Jones' ministry. Henceforth he zealously bought the Doctor’s books as they were produced by the Banner of Truth.
When I entered the parlor, the Doctor was reading his daily portion from a much worn pocket Bible. He laid it aside and we had an hour together. If we are to consider the godliness of Dr Lloyd-Jones, let us start with his approach to Bible reading.
1. READING THE BIBLE
He said to the theological students at Westminster Seminary, Philadelphia, in 1969 that an “essential in the preacher’s life is the reading of the Bible. This is obviously something that he does every day regularly. My main advice here is: Read your Bible systematically. The danger is to read at random, and that means that one tends to be reading only one’s favourite passages. In other words one fails to read the whole Bible. I cannot emphasize too strongly the vital importance of reading the whole Bible. I would say that all preachers should read through the whole Bible in its entirety at least once every year. You can devise your own method for doing this, or you can use one of the methods devised by others. I remember how after I had worked out a scheme for myself and the members of my church in my early years in the ministry, I then came across the scheme that Robert Murray McCheyne worked out for the members of his church in Dundee. It is in his biography by Andrew Bonar. By following that scheme of Robert Murray McCheyne you read four chapters of the Bible every day, and by so doing you read the Old Testament once, but the Psalms and the New Testament twice, each year. Unlike many modern schemes he did not just pick out little sections, or a few verses or small paragraphs here and there, and thus take many years to go through the whole Bible, and in some cases omit certain passages altogether. The whole object of his scheme is to get people to go right through the Scriptures every year omitting nothing. That should be the very minimum of the preacher’s Bible reading. I have found this to be one of the most important things of all.”
Then the Doctor underlined that in this way: “Here, I want to say something that I regard, in many ways, as the most important discovery I have made in my life as a preacher. I had to discover it for myself, and all to whom I have introduced it have always been most grateful for it. When you are reading your Scriptures in this way — it matters not whether you have read little or much — if a verse stands out and hits you and arrests you, do not go on reading. Stop immediately, and listen to it. It is speaking to you, so listen to it and speak to it. Stop reading at once, and work on this statement that has struck you in this way. Go on doing so to the point of making a skeleton of a sermon."
Then there is also this added observation; “For many many years I have never read my Bible without having a scribbling-pad either on my table or in my pocket; and the moment anything strikes me or arrests me, I immediately pull out my pad. A preacher has to be like a squirrel and has to learn how to collect and store matter for the future days of winter. So you not only work out your skeleton, you put it down on paper, because otherwise you will not remember it. You think you will, but you will soon discover that it is not so.”
2. PRAYING
If the essence of godliness is personal communion with God, then what does Dr. Lloyd-Jones have to say to us on praying? There is one section in Preaching and Preachers which is very moving. It is just over two pages in length, and it is the only place in his lectures on preaching that he expands on the theme of prayer. Every sentence is worth reading:
When I entered the parlor, the Doctor was reading his daily portion from a much worn pocket Bible. He laid it aside and we had an hour together. If we are to consider the godliness of Dr Lloyd-Jones, let us start with his approach to Bible reading.
1. READING THE BIBLE
He said to the theological students at Westminster Seminary, Philadelphia, in 1969 that an “essential in the preacher’s life is the reading of the Bible. This is obviously something that he does every day regularly. My main advice here is: Read your Bible systematically. The danger is to read at random, and that means that one tends to be reading only one’s favourite passages. In other words one fails to read the whole Bible. I cannot emphasize too strongly the vital importance of reading the whole Bible. I would say that all preachers should read through the whole Bible in its entirety at least once every year. You can devise your own method for doing this, or you can use one of the methods devised by others. I remember how after I had worked out a scheme for myself and the members of my church in my early years in the ministry, I then came across the scheme that Robert Murray McCheyne worked out for the members of his church in Dundee. It is in his biography by Andrew Bonar. By following that scheme of Robert Murray McCheyne you read four chapters of the Bible every day, and by so doing you read the Old Testament once, but the Psalms and the New Testament twice, each year. Unlike many modern schemes he did not just pick out little sections, or a few verses or small paragraphs here and there, and thus take many years to go through the whole Bible, and in some cases omit certain passages altogether. The whole object of his scheme is to get people to go right through the Scriptures every year omitting nothing. That should be the very minimum of the preacher’s Bible reading. I have found this to be one of the most important things of all.”
Then the Doctor underlined that in this way: “Here, I want to say something that I regard, in many ways, as the most important discovery I have made in my life as a preacher. I had to discover it for myself, and all to whom I have introduced it have always been most grateful for it. When you are reading your Scriptures in this way — it matters not whether you have read little or much — if a verse stands out and hits you and arrests you, do not go on reading. Stop immediately, and listen to it. It is speaking to you, so listen to it and speak to it. Stop reading at once, and work on this statement that has struck you in this way. Go on doing so to the point of making a skeleton of a sermon."
Then there is also this added observation; “For many many years I have never read my Bible without having a scribbling-pad either on my table or in my pocket; and the moment anything strikes me or arrests me, I immediately pull out my pad. A preacher has to be like a squirrel and has to learn how to collect and store matter for the future days of winter. So you not only work out your skeleton, you put it down on paper, because otherwise you will not remember it. You think you will, but you will soon discover that it is not so.”
2. PRAYING
If the essence of godliness is personal communion with God, then what does Dr. Lloyd-Jones have to say to us on praying? There is one section in Preaching and Preachers which is very moving. It is just over two pages in length, and it is the only place in his lectures on preaching that he expands on the theme of prayer. Every sentence is worth reading:
"I approach the next matter with great hesitation, and a sense of utter unworthiness. I suppose we all fail at this next point more than anywhere else; that is in the matter of prayer. Prayer is vital to the life of the preacher. Read the biographies, and the autobiographies of the greatest preachers throughout the centuries and you will find that this has always been the great characteristic of their lives. They were always great men of prayer, and they spent considerable time in prayer. I could quote many examples, but I must refrain as there are so many, and they are well known. These men found that this was absolutely essential, and that it became increasingly so as they went on.
I have always hesitated to deal with this subject. I have preached on prayer when it has come in a passage through which I have been working; but I have never presumed to produce a book on prayer, or even a booklet. Certain people have done this in a very mechanical manner, taking us through the different aspects, and classifying it all. It all seems so simple. But prayer is not simple. There is an element of discipline in prayer, of course, but it surely cannot be dealt with in that way because of its very nature. All I would say is this — and again I am speaking here from personal experience — that once more it is very important for one to know one’s self in this matter. Whether this is a sign of a lack of deep spirituality or not I do not know — I do not think it is – but I confess that I have found it difficult to start praying in the morning.
I have come to learn certain things about private prayer. You cannot pray to order. You can get on your knees to order; but how to pray? I have found nothing more important than to learn how to get oneself into that frame and condition in which one can pray. You have to learn how to start yourself off, and it is just here that this knowledge of yourself is so important. What I have generally found is that to read something which can be characterised in general as devotional is of great value. By devotional I do not mean something sentimental, I mean something with a true element of worship in it. Notice that I do not say that you should start yourself in prayer by always reading the Scriptures; because you can have precisely the same difficulty there. Start by reading something that will warm your spirit. Get rid of a coldness that may have developed in your spirit. You have to learn how to kindle a flame in your spirit, to warm yourself up, to give yourself a start. It is comparable, if you like, to starting a car when it is cold. You have to learn how to use a spiritual choke. I have found it most rewarding to do that, and not to struggle vainly. When one finds oneself in this condition, and that it is difficult to pray, do not struggle in prayer for the time being, but read something that will warm and stimulate you, and you will find that it will put you into a condition in which you will be able to pray more freely.
But I am not suggesting for a moment — quite the reverse — that your praying should be confined only to the morning when you start your work in your study. Prayer should be going on throughout the day. Prayer need not of necessity be long; it can be brief, just an ejaculation at times is a true prayer. That is, surely, what the Apostle Paul means in his exhortation in 1 Thessalonians 5: 17, ‘Pray without ceasing’. That does not mean that you should be perpetually on your knees, but that you are always in a prayerful condition. As you are walking along a road, or while you are working in your study, you turn frequently to God in prayer.
Above all — and this I regard as most important of all — always respond to every impulse to pray. The impulse to pray may come when you are reading or when you are battling with a text. I would make an absolute law of this — always obey such an impulse. Where does it come from? It is the work of the Holy Spirit; it is a part of the meaning of, ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure’ (Phil. 2: 12—13). This often leads to some of the most remarkable experiences in the life of the minister. So never resist, never postpone it, never push it aside because you are busy. Give yourself to it, yield to it; and you will find not only that you have not been wasting time with respect to the matter with which you are dealing, but that actually it has helped you greatly in that respect. You will experience an ease and a facility in understanding what you were reading, in thinking, in ordering matter for a sermon, in writing, in everything, which is quite astonishing. Such a call to prayer must never be regarded as a distraction; always respond to it immediately, and thank God if it happens to you frequently.
From every standpoint the minister, the preacher, must be a man of prayer. This is constantly emphasized in the Pastoral Epistles and elsewhere, and, as I say, it is confirmed abundantly in the long history of the Church, and especially in the lives of the outstanding preachers. John Wesley used to say that he thought very little of a man who did not pray four hours every day. Nothing stands out so clearly likewise in the lives of people like David Brainerd and Jonathan Edwards, Robert Murray McCheyne and a host of other saints. That is why one is so humbled as one reads the stories of such men."
So here is a theme that appears to recur in Lloyd-Jones’ godliness, that of God’s constant dealings with the Christian, that he is our Father and deals familiarly with his children. Submit to the Spirit of God! Follow God’s promptings in Bible reading and prayer is what he is telling us. This is further seen in his counsels about understanding the will of God for your life.
To Be Continued
-- Geoff Thomas
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