DownshoreDrift

All of Life is Repentance

Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC says that. I think that he's right.

I've been asked by a couple of people over the past week about repentance - what it is and how you do it. I preached about it on Sunday as I happened to be at that point in the Book of Acts - Acts 3:19-20, which says, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus."

Now ultimately, Biblical repentance is about salvation. It is about turning AWAY from your sin and rebellion and turning to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Too many people make repentance into something like, "stop doing bad and start doing good." But, there's no power in that. True repentance means that we turn AWAY from sin and turn TO faith in Jesus.

Repentance means to turn around. A man might say, "I was headed for a cliff, but I repented. I turned around and went the other way and lived."

Repentance is more than just being sorry. It means that we turn around - we forsake our sinful thoughts and activities. It is not a burdensome thing, but rather, it is extremely lifegiving. When we repent, we step into who God has truly made us to be as we place our faith in Jesus.

Who needs to repent? Paul, in Acts 17:30 says that repentance is for everyone: "he (God) commands all people everywhere to repent." We all need to repent because we have all sinned and fall short of God's glory. And, repentance is not just a one time thing. Jesus told the church in Ephesus in Rev. 2:5 that was doing so much right, to "Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."  Turn around from the direction you were going and turn to Christ. Even Christians.

So, I thought that I would list some steps to repentance. Repentance, for the Christian, renews our relationship with God and puts us back on the right path. It involves a looking away from and forsaking past behavior and attitudes and a looking to Christ. It seems that many do not know how to repent. Here are some thoughts:

1. Ask God to search your heart (Pslam 139:23-24). We are all pretty subjective. If it is my job to search my heart, I will often rationalize attitudes and actions that God would get rid of if I would just submit to Him. When asking Him to search my heart, it is helpful to read the Bible and focus on passages like Colossians 3.  What from that passage do I need to believe and incorporate into my life? What do I need to deal with?
2. When God shows you the areas that you need to deal with, confess them to God. Confession is basically agreement with God that we have sinned (1 John 1:9). When we agree with God about our sin, we admit that He is holy and that His character is in tact. We confess our sin and claim His forgiveness. We agree with God about what we have done, give it to Him, and begin to receive His forgiveness. This enables us to walk with Him. Amos 3:3 says, "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"
3. When you confess your sin, forsake it. Turn away from it. "Put off the old" (Eph. 4:22).
4. Turn to Christ in faith. It is not enough to just try and stop doing/thinking negative things. We must additionally turn to Christ. He makes us "new in the attitude of our minds" (Eph. 4:23). In this, we receive His unlimited forgiveness and mercy.
5. We must put move on. We put on the new self and enter into times of refreshing (Eph. 4:24).

Repentance has gotten a bad rap. It has this image of being this guilt induced experience that makes us feel awful and very ashamed. That is not so! Biblical repentance is liberating and it leads to life! It is a way that God has given us to throw off our sin and turn to Jesus to find true life! It is an avenue to wholeness, because we are only truly whole when we walk with Him. We all need to be in an attitude of repentance all the time. We never become so holy or perfect that we do not need to continually realign ourselves with God's work, will, and purposes taking place around us. Who do we think we are?

I am not talking about feeling bad all the time. But, I am talking about having a basic understanding that I need to realign myself to what God is doing and His holiness and not the other way around. I need to turn around from the direction that I was headed, and by faith, turn to God. It seems that we make repentance too hard on people and they miss an incredible blessing of laying down their will to take up the yoke of Christ. We have made another blessed means of knowing God more deeply into a shameful and legalistic exercise that is only for "really bad sinners."

Well, I am here to confess that I need continual repentance. I need to consistently realign my life with God's will and purposes. I am not ashamed to admit that, because that is a place that I find refreshing, life giving, living water from Jesus. Sometimes it is difficult for us to admit that we need to keep turning our lives over to God, but it is true. And, there is life in recognizing the we still need a Savior each and every day.

May we engage in true heartfelt repentance this week. May we confess our sins and our desperate need for Christ and also the victory that He has for all who believe in Him. Then, by faith, may we receive the incredible grace that God lavishes upon all who call upon Him and move on into the path that God truly wants us to walk - a walk in agreement with Him.

Reasons Why the Pharisees Wanted to Kill Jesus

You could also call this post, "Why We Ignore the Work of God." As I was thinking through the gospels and Jesus' life and ministry the other day, I started to think about the Pharisees and masses of Jews, and why they wanted to kill Jesus. The Bible says on many occasions things like, "and they plotted to kill Jesus," or, "they left that place planning to kill Jesus." Well, those aren't exact words, but they are fairly to the point of the position of the Pharisees. The question is, "why?"

First off, I need to make a confession: If I had been alive back then, absent the drawing work of the Holy Spirit (and this is true now, by the way), I would have been yelling, "Crucify, Crucify" as well. I would have. If I were Peter, I would have denied Christ. If I were Thomas, I would have doubted. If I were Judas, well, let's not go there. If I were one of the Pharisees, I probably would have been right there, trying to get rid of this trouble maker. The Pharisees were a group that arose in Israel after the Babylonian Captivity and during the Intertestamental period for the purpose of keeping Israel pure. They saw what happened the last time Israel fell into idol worship and they wanted to make sure that the people totally followed the Law, did the right thing, did not worship idols, and only honored God. They didn't want Israel to be punished by God and lose everything again. So far, so good. But, thier problem was that their hearts had not been changed and they were actually afraid of God, instead of doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8). They followed God on the outside, but not on the inside. Jesus came to mess with their insides and that upset them. It upsets us today.

Thoughts to Start Off the Week

A few things I'm thinking about today as we start off another week . . .

Ernesto seems to be moving east toward Florida. I don't wish a hurricane on anyone, and my sister lives in Orlando, but I am very glad it is not projected to hit Louisiana-Mississippi. They truly can't take it. The tens of thousands of people living in FEMA trailers would again be homeless. I just pray that this hurricane season remains relatively quiet.  This week is the one year anniversary of Katrina and the memories are strong. I'm going to write a bit about my memories from last year. Even though I didn't go through it, we were down there four days later and my family went through it. It was a horrendous time and I want to get some thoughts down.

We had a great day at church yesterday. I preached on Philippians 3:17-4:1. Powerful passage. We talked about how Paul's example and pattern were the "way of life in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 4:16-17), and how that is so different from just moral behavior alone. Rather, it is finding your righteousness in Christ by faith and allowing Him to live through you and transform you. That leads to moral behavior, but Christ is always our starting and finish point. He is our guide and our goal. The message notes and audio will be up on Gatewaylife.net later this week.

In Chains for Christ - Message Notes, 6.18.06

This Sunday, Father’s Day, I preached from Philippians 1:12-18:

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. ¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard^[a] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

¹⁵It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.^{[b] 18}But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

This passage deals with Paul’s acceptance of being in prison and his pleasure in the gospel being preached, even though he is in chains. Apparently, he had enemies, who were trying to stir up trouble against him by preaching the gospel out of insincere motives so that people would blame Paul. I have heard this passage preached many times, and always the interpretation points us toward a belief in God’s Sovereignty so that we will have a confidence that no matter what situation we find ourselves in, everything will work out o.k.

I have always seen that passage that way myself. However, as I was reading, I began to see that the picture that is painted is that Paul is most excited that the Gospel is being preached. No matter what happens to him, he has confidence that God is going to use him to proclaim the gospel, whether he is in prison, or being maligned by his enemies. What an encouraging thought! I challenged the parents in our church, and fathers in particular to consider if they were passing on to their children the same type of passion for the gospel. For Paul the gospel was everything. It was more important than happiness, comfort, freedom, wealth, prestige, or position. It’s proclamation was the singular purpose of his life and it made every trial worth suffering. Are we teaching that to our children? Are we living that ourselves? Can we join with Paul in saying that the most important thing in our lives is that Christ is preached? Because of this, do we rejoice?

I pray that is the case, because nothing else is worth living for.

Grace & Peace - Message Notes: 6.04.06

We started the book of Philippians on Sunday. We'll be preaching through Paul's letter until at least Labor Day. I love Philippians and it has always been a major source of encouragement to me in my walk, especially when I am going through difficult times.  The most important thing that I get out of this letter is Paul's encouragment to rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4), even though He writes from prison! 

Sunday's message was on the greeting that Paul, Peter, and John give in their letters: Grace and Peace to you.  What does it mean to receive God's grace? How does our peace flow from His grace? After receiving and accepting God's grace and peace, not just for salvation, but for daily life, we are to then extend it to others so that our relationships can be whole - so we can truly experience Shalom.  Bible.org has a good introduction to Philippians.  Take a look at my message notes HERE.

By the way, starting next week sermons will be online at gatewaybaptist.com.  Robby Collins, one of our elders, will be preaching on Philippians 1:3-11, so check it out. I'll create links here to the messages for those interested!

We Need One Another - Message Notes - 5.28.06

Today I preached a message on how we all need one another.  We are starting a summer book study on Philippians, and I felt compelled to really call us to recognize that we belong to one another as the body of Christ (Rom. 12:5) as we start the summer. With such a young church, it is easy to get in the mindset that, summer is here, it is time to just take a break, go our separate ways, and not be connected to others the way we normally are.  But, as I was thinking, I realized that we have that attitude for at least 5 months of the year (Nov-Dec because of Christmas, and May-July because of summer).  Wow.  It is really hard to keep growing in the Lord and in relationships if we are constantly on a college schedule. Maybe it's time to continue on with our close relationships even when the weather gets warm!

When we lived in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, we lived just a couple of miles from Muir Woods,  where they have the giant redwoods.  The really interesting thing about redwoods, among many other things, is that they grow to about 35 stories tall, but they have really shallow root systems. So, if you took one of these giant trees and stuck it out by itself in a field, it would topple over with the first strong wind!  But, in a redwood forest, the roots of the trees interconnect and they help each other stand up. Fascinating, eh?

The Da Vinci Code

Well, I thought I'd chime in on The Da Vinci Code. I preached on it yesterday, and after doing a bit of research, I realized that if anyone is afraid that this book/movie is going to undermine Christianity, they can rest easy.  After just a little research, almost all of the claims of the movie are shown to be patently false.  The danger of the movie will be towards those who do not think for themselves and believe whatever they see or read, which unfortunately might be the majority of people. 

Dan Brown has crafted an interesting, fast-paced mystery, in which a plot to protect the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdeline by the Priory of Sion is in danger of being exposed by the Catholic Church.  It is a fanciful tale and one that can be exposed as pure fiction in about five minutes.  As far as being a serious threat to Christianity: not so much.  As far as it being an avenue to explain to people who Jesus really is:  it could open doors of conversation. 

What we are facing is what Frederic Baue predicted in The Spiritual Society: What Lurks Beyond Postmodernism.   His basic premise is that we are entering what he calls the Therian Age, which will be very spritiual, as modernism has failed us, but it will also be very hostile to Christianity.  I believe that he is right and it is being borne out through things like the Da Vinci Code.   But, is that not exactly what Paul faced in Acts 16:16-24 and Acts 17:16-34 where he cast the demon out of the slave girl in Philippi and was beaten and thrown into jail, and when he debated the philosophers about the Unknown God in Athens?  We live in a pluralistic age and we should be prepared to enter into this type of dialogue with unbelievers/pagans.  For it to frighten us, only shows us that our faith is not as secure as we perhaps thought.

I got my message notes from several different places that I do not even remember now, but here are some resources if you are interested:

Josh McDowell's Research (pretty heavy)

Read Some of My Message Notes Below (Not Cited)

Jesus Has Overcome the World - Message Notes - 4.16.06

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" - John 16:33.

My family wants to thank each one of your from the bottom of our hearts for the love, support, and prayers that we have received.  It really is making a difference and we are experiencing a supernatural faith, strength, confidence and peace that is impossible to explain.  Thank you so much!  I praise God for each of you.  God is giving us a perspective that only comes through His Spirit and it is seeing us through.

As we step into this time of trial with our son, Caelan, I am thinking a lot about suffering, and ultimately about the suffering of Jesus.  We had our Good Friday service last night and afterwards watched The Passion of the Christ.  I was, once again, amazed at how Jesus took a beating for us and how God was most glorified through the SUFFERING of His only Son. When we think of God, we think of glory, power, strength, and holiness.  We think of the Supreme Judge who gave the Ten Commandments and who thunders with power.  It is difficult, if not impossible, to understand that God hung on a cross for us.  He was beaten for us. He gave His life for us.  The Cross of Christ was the apex of human history and we learn more about God from that event than from anything else in Scripture.  God became flesh. He went to a brutal Roman cross.  He suffered and died so that we would have life.  Amazing Grace.

This gives special meaning to the cancer that my son is going through and all of our suffering . . .

Joyful Giving, Pt. 3 - Message Notes - 3.12.06

Perhaps you might be wondering why I preached three messages on giving. I became so enthralled with the subject as I started studying it a month ago that I realized that there was so much to say. And, it isn't like you can just come at it from one direction and talk about it forever. Over the past three weeks we have looked at three different vital aspects of giving. The first message had to do with the object of our giving - we should give to help those in need (see Isaiah 58).   The second message had to do with the faithfulness of God's character that enables us to trust Him as we give. The third message (today) had to do with the motivation behind our giving:  Grace.

We spent most of our time in 2 Corinthians 8 & 9.  We identified 6 characteristics of  joyful giving in these two chapters. They are:

1. All giving is by Grace (2 Cor. 8:1,6,7; 9:14-15).  The Greek word for "grace" is Charis, which Strong's defines as "divine influence upon the heart and it's reflection in the life."  I really like that. We receive God's grace as a divine influence upon our heart that is then reflected in our life.   The experience of this grace helps us to be generous with our lives, even if we are going through severe trial or extreme poverty. Grace is so powerful, that in 2 Cor. 8:2, when you mix those two cirucumstances with overflowing joy, you get rich generosity!

Joyful Giving- Message Notes - 2.26.06 & 3.05.06

The past two weeks,  we have talked about God's Kingdom being expressed and advanced through our generosity and the freedom that God has given us to give. There are some major themes that need to be understood when it comes to giving:

1. We give of our time, resources, energy, and our lives, because God is a giving God. John 3:16 says that "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." Our lives are to reflect His life and His character. It has been said, you cannot outgive God. Whatever you give, He will give more because He will not share His glory or be in debt to any man. Luke 6:38 says, "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

2. We are free to give because God is trustworthy. Matthew 25:14-30, the Parable of the Talents, tells the story of three men who were given resources by their Master. The Master went away and the first two men took what the Master had given them and doubled it. They said, "Master, you entrusted us with this amount and we have earned more."  They were called FAITHFUL.  Note, that they said to the Master, "you entrusted" us. To be entrusted with something denotes a trust relationship. The third servant said that he knew that his Master was a hard man and that he harvested where he has not sown seed. He was afraid of losing his money, so he buried it. How often, in our own fear of what will happen, we bury the blessings that God has given us. This man was called wicked and was thrown out where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. If we have a relationship with God and trust Him, we will have the confidence to give, knowing that He supplies us with all that we need (Phil. 4:19).

3.  We are blessed to be a blessing (Gen. 12:2). God blesses us because He loves us and He blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. He desires that we be a conduit of His grace, power, and supernatural provision - Matt. 10:8 - "Freely you have received, freely give." How many Christians receive incredible blessings from God, just to hoard it themselves and spend all that they have on their own pleasures!  How many Chrisitians receive salvation, life, and provision, only to spend their life thinking of themselves and taking care of themselves!  You are blessed to be a blessing!  Take what you have and bless others!

4. We are to give to those in need.  Isaiah 58 illustrates this well. We are to give to the poor, fight  for justice for the oppressed, feed the hungry, and take care of those in distress.  This is God's heart and when we follow Him in this, He will take care of us. Our light will break forth like the dawn and our healing will quickly appear. We will be called Repairers of the Breach and Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. God takes care of the poor and so should we. They should always be a primary object of our giving.

5. We are to give to advance the Gospel. Philippians 4:15-19 is an example of Paul thanking the church at Philippi for their gifts in helping him in his life and ministry. As he shared the Gospel and they supported him, they formed a partnership to help advance the Kingdom of God into darkness. May we be faithful to always support those who are sharing Christ with a lost world.

6.  We are to give to support the work of the church. Romans 12:5,10, & 13 says that we belong to one another, we are to devoted to one another in brotherly love, and that we are to share with those in need. Acts 2:45 shows the early church selling their possessions and goods and giving to anyone who was in need. If we all belong to a body, and if we all have a say in the ministry of that local body and in developing the budget as we do at our church, then we should all committ to support the work of that church financially, and with time, prayer, resources, and energy. Together we can do far more than if we stay isolated.

As a church we have decided to cut our budget by 25% from last year to this year. We have cut back to bare bones and have eliminated every bit of fluff. We are asking each person to pray about giving sacrificially to the church so that we can have an overage above and beyond our needs for the following reasons:

1. To pay off our mortgage. We have had a building debt for 17 years and it is about time we bought our old trailers outright!  I'm not much into spending a bunch of money on buildings, but it would be great to actually pay for the ones we have. So, we are committed to 70% of our overage to go towards paying off the debt.

2. For benevolence. We want to pursue the needy, not just wait for them to come to us. We are going to take 15% of our overage and find people to bless and give to.

3. For our church ministries. We want to take 15% of the overage and actually FUND our ministries that year after year have little money because we rarely have had cash flow. What can we do in outreach or children's ministry that would push us outside of our comfort zones if we could fund it a bit?

The really cool thing about this is, that at the end of March, we are going to apportion all of this money. And, we have already had about $55,000 given to world missions in January and February alone!  So far this year, we have given the same amount to missions as we have to our church ministries.  I am praying that at the end of this quarter, we are able to make a HUGE dent in our mortgage and minister to and help a lot of people. We continue with our work on the Gulf Coast and our desire is to GO TO our community with the saving grace of Jesus Christ instead of expecting them to come to us. May God bless us as we continue to give out of our weaknesses to share the generosity of Christ with a needy world.